


Street Thugs and Criminal Empires

by yeojasamho



Series: Superpowers [4]
Category: DEAN (Korean Musician), EXO (Band), The Boyz (Korea Band), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, F/M, Gen, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-08-23 00:11:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 48,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16608125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeojasamho/pseuds/yeojasamho
Summary: A year has passed since the events in "Watch the Shadows" and "Vigilantes," a new enemy causes havoc in the city, taking advantage of Chanyeol, Hyuk, and Mirae's shaken states to strike. Along with Jaehwan, the four of them get back in action, with potentially life-changing choices to make along the way.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by "The Defenders"  
> Most of the characters are not mine, most of the plot is.

Kwon Hyuk was at a church. It wasn’t a place he particularly went to, but it was a place he suddenly came across while on a walk back to his company. For some reason, he felt compelled to go inside, and inside, he felt a little calmer. Sitting down on a nearby pew, he watched other people go in, kneel or sit, then leave. Some were even lighting candles on the side.

 

It had been a year. One year since the events that took place in the Bermuda triangle, where they took down a parasitic demon, along with the only Utopian member that escaped, Prometheus, also known as W, the very person who sent them on their quest to prevent another world war from happening. He couldn’t believe it. One year had already passed. 

 

Since returning from their ordeal, things were relatively quiet. He took a break from that aspect of his life and focused on his music again, releasing a mini-album in which he performed in front of small crowds in clubs. He also performed a few times a week at Chanyeol’s father’s live cafe, partly in exchange for free food, which was given to him anyway regardless if he asked for it or not, and he never really did. 

 

It was at those times that he was made aware of how far he went to protect everyone in this city, in this country, and how far he would still go. At the same time, he was now aware that while he’s busy protecting this place he called home, the others would be out there protecting the world from whatever that may come. The others were at Summerland, where the whole adventure the previous year began. For now, he was perfectly okay doing what he always did and focusing on what he always focused on. 

 

“Didn’t think you were a church-going kind of person” A familiar voice suddenly said behind him. Hyuk looked over, it was Mirae. 

 

Hyuk smiled. “How did you know I was here?” He patted the space next to him on the pew and Mirae sat down. 

 

“The doors are clear, and I can recognize the back of your head a mile away” Mirae smiled at him. 

 

Since returning from the Bermuda mission, Mirae and her adoptive brother Jihoon moved into a bigger apartment in their building, and graduated from the cyber university with flying colors. Hyuk, Jihoon, Jaehwan, and Chanyeol came to watch her receive her diploma, with Younghoon surprising her afterwards after hearing the news from Hyuk. But aside from returning from the big mission with a boyfriend, Mirae’s even more enhanced powers resulted in the appearance of a white streak in her hair that she never bothered to have covered up since then. 

 

Hyuk looked back at the people who were praying at the very front pew. “Things really are quiet ever since we got back,” He said quietly. “I’ve gotten so used to this weird chaos…” 

 

“Yeah,” she replied. “I’m not used to it anymore either. I know it’s been a year, but I can’t help but think that something is happening again that we don’t know about” She frowned slightly, then closed her eyes and sighed. 

 

The telekinetic glanced at her. “It’s like having PTSD or something, isn’t it?” 

 

“Mhmm, I can’t seem to sleep without it coming into my dreams lately, you know? Pair that with the memories of when I was trained bleeding through and I’m wide awake” Mirae looked at the altar. 

 

Their faceoff with the Utopian cult the previous year revealed that not only were her adoptive parents the ones leading the cult, they were also responsible for turning her into a merciless killer during her stay in the sanitarium, training her while erasing those memories through intense electroshock therapy sessions. Her killer instincts remained dormant until triggered with an audio trigger that would bring out that side of her. After their encounter, the trigger placed in her head was soon taken out by Lee Sangyeon, a powerful telepath. 

 

“No wonder you graduated with honors,” Hyuk teased, and she nudged him. He tilted his head at her, his expression suddenly serious again. “This is the first time I’ve seen you like this.”

 

Mirae looked at her friend. “I’ll be fine, Hyuk. This will go away in time,” She assured him as she sat back. “I just wonder when it’ll happen.” 

 

Hyuk placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, hoping it would assure her of him being there for her. This was always how it was between the two of them. Most of the time, they never needed to speak to let each other know how they were feeling or what they seemed to go through. 

 

“It really is peaceful in here,” She said quietly, looking at the altar. “I can see why you stopped to go in” 

 

“Things have changed a lot since the attack 2 years ago,” Hyuk glanced at her again. “Or maybe it’s just changed because we were in it” 

 

“Both” Mirae replied. 

 

“After what happened, maybe we shouldn’t always do the saving? There’s more of us than we thought” 

 

She shrugged. “Maybe.”

 

They left the church a moment later, and continued their walk down the street. It was getting dark, and the streetlights were already on to illuminate the road. Hyuk and Mirae passed by an ice cream shop and bought some sundaes to eat on the way back. They talked about their lives again, steering clear from the subject of their powers and from the past events, mainly in the hopes of getting back into the normal swing of things as it was before the cult and the Bermuda mission. It seemed to work. 

 

~

 

Meanwhile, Kim Jaehwan was in the studio, working on some more songs for his upcoming album. He released his first set of songs the previous year, and it was well-received by critics. Jaehwan was invited to a few small shows here and there, busking as much as he could whenever he had the time. Then again, he had a lot of time to spare in between making albums now. He never thought his career would suddenly take off the way it did for him when he was signed on to the company, but it did, despite knowing that he kind of had another job on the side, with Mirae, Hyuk, and Chanyeol, not that they really considered it a job and not that he used his abilities a lot over the months, but it was something he felt he had to do on the side apart from focusing on his music. 

 

For some reason, he found himself at a crossroads even though he already knew he was taking on both paths at the same time. On the other hand, one path would have his life on the line, the other, his anonymity. He never thought to choose, even if the question crossed his mind a few times. He was aware that those things were a part of him, and he felt that it wouldn’t be right to keep one or the other unused. 

 

He looked back up at the television and turned it on, flipping through the channels until he stopped at the news. There wasn’t much going on, just more announcements and debates about issues that he didn’t have much of an opinion about. Jaehwan was always for the right thing, but he had other things to worry about as well. 

 

“Jaehwan hyung,” Someone said. 

 

“Yeah?” He didn’t bother to look at who it was. It was his labelmate Lee Daehwi, followed by Park Woojin, another labelmate. The three of them were signed on around the same time, but the two of them were preparing to debut as a unit. 

 

“Jiho hyung told us to go on a meal run. What are you having for dinner?” He asked. 

 

The question made Jaehwan look up. “Dinner? Dinner already?” 

 

“Look outside, it’s already dark” Woojin gestured to the window. 

 

Jaehwan stood up and looked out the window. He was so preoccupied with his work that he didn’t realize how dark it was outside. It meant that he needed to go home or else his parents and his guardians, who were now living under the same roof, would worry. Ever since his encounter with the Utopian cult, his parents had become extra worried, despite his guardians’ attempts to assure them that he would be fine either way. “Oh… time has flown” he said, upon returning to his seat. 

 

“So? Do you want anything or not?” Daehwi asked again. 

 

“No, I’ll be going home anyway, you two can go ahead and get some dinner. Try not to go home too late, you never really know what’s going on” He advised them. 

 

“Weren’t those cult people arrested? I doubt their followers still roam around the streets until now” Woojin mused. 

 

“Like I said, you never really know” Jaehwan nodded. It made him remember that encounter. It was something he could never truly forget. He would still think about how everything went down, how he found himself fighting so many thugs, brainwashed by Mirae’s own adoptive parents into becoming their followers to take control of Seoul and everyone in it. 

 

Woojin and Daehwi nodded and left, while he put his guitar back in its case. Jaehwan bid everyone else at the company a goodbye for the day, and left the building, on his way to Viva Polo again, where the four of them agreed to meet up almost every week after all of them were done from work. 

 

~ 

 

Over at Viva Polo, Park Chanyeol was cleaning out the rest of the tables. The customers had all gone after the dinner rush, and they had to forcefully send out a few drunk uncles after having had too much soju. He didn’t think he’d be cleaning up a lot of vomit off the floors but he managed to, and now he was making sure everything was ready for their weekly meetings-turned-late dinners. 

 

He spent the previous year since the Bermuda mission in the restaurant as usual, except he was helping out in the kitchen more and more now that his colleague, Moon Taeil had been promoted to head chef. The restaurant was growing bigger, which meant more help was needed. He got to use his powers a lot more too, when no one in the kitchen was looking. If he was asked to reheat pasta that went a little cold, all he needed to do was to hold it for a few minutes, if one of the stoves wouldn’t turn on, he started the fire himself.

 

Chanyeol had learned how to use his powers in his everyday life, and he had gotten good at it. However, he still couldn’t shake off the memories of the Bermuda mission the previous year. He still remembered everything that happened and it was sometimes all he wound up thinking about as he worked. 

 

His mother suddenly came in to help him set up one table, while his father brought in some dishes. “Had you used those powers earlier, or had you and the others stopped those aliens years ago, you would have already been exempt from military service, you know” his father told him. 

 

He just laughed. “Or I’d be forced to stay in the military,” he pointed out. “They’d use me as a weapon, do experiments on me, that kind of thing-” 

 

“Let’s not talk about what could happen to you if you land in the hands of the military” His mother suddenly said, shushing them both. “Jaehwan, Hyuk, and Mirae will be coming any minute” 

 

Chanyeol laughed to himself, but he had already thought of that possibility. It was one of the dangers of being a mutant. He could be captured, be on the run, be experimented on, just because of what he can do, whether he used it for good or not. Keeping their identities anonymous was a good thing after the Seoul attack and the Utopian cult. 

 

It began to rain outside, and their whole table was already set. The doors quietly opened, and Hyuk and Mirae came in, their jackets over their heads. Jihoon and Jaehwan came in after them, also holding their jackets over their heads with the latter dragging a wet guitar case. “We’re here, we’re here” Mirae said, taking her jacket off, all of them bowing towards Chanyeol’s parents to greet them. 

 

“Sit down, sit down, the rest of the dishes will be out. It’s so nice to see all of you again” Chanyeol’s mother said, giving them a hug. 

 

“What are we having tonight?” Jihoon asked, sitting down next to Mirae. 

 

“The specialties for today,” Chanyeol replied. “Or what’s left of today’s cooking, at least” 

 

“More for us, then” Jihoon grabbed his knife and fork, but paused to wait for the four of them to start eating. 

 

Mirae glanced at him. “You sound like you didn’t eat anything all day” 

 

“The boxing lessons made me hungry. I’m thinking of taking jujitsu classes next” Jihoon smiled. “What do you think?” 

 

“Just try to ease into it, or else the cramps will get you” Mirae grinned, nudging him to eat. 

 

“I could use some practice with that,” Jaehwan said. “I need to practice throwing a proper punch” 

 

She shook her head. “You don’t need to, just like how I told Younghoon he doesn’t need to.” 

 

The four males looked at her. “Where is that pretty boy anyway? Off saving the world again?” Jaehwan said, with a slight frown. 

 

“He’s in Summerland, I’m sure” Mirae said. 

 

“Tone down the jealousy” Chanyeol told him, and Jaehwan backed off. Jihoon on the other hand, was trying not to laugh. Jihoon and Younghoon immediately got along when Mirae introduced them again after a while, with the former being especially happy about their relationship. ‘Easy for you to say, you have Sungyoung’ he heard Hyuk say to him in his head. 

 

Chanyeol had been dating a librarian named Park Sungyoung for several months. They were introduced to each other by Taeil when she first came to the restaurant. But lately, he was on his own as she was away on a three-day convention. It was his first relationship in a very long time, and he was happy about it. 

 

The five of them continued to eat in silence. It was a comfortable kind of silence, with them knowing that they didn’t always need to talk, or that they’ve already run out of things to talk about with how frequently they met. From what happened in the Bermuda mission, to their own superpower-free careers, to where Jihoon was planning to go after university, to where they all were headed down the line. They had gotten used to meeting like this ever since they teamed up the previous year. 

 

Once the dishes were all cleared, they ended the meal with some hot chocolate and pieces of biscotti that Chanyeol revealed he made earlier in the day. “This is good biscotti” Jihoon muttered with his mouth full. 

 

The mood was cut short when the coffee shop across the street from them exploded, fire coming out of the windows. The restaurant, along with the other establishments in the area, had blacked out. The four of them slowly turned to glance at Chanyeol, who looked stunned. “That is not me.” He replied, looking back at the store. 

 

They got up. “Jihoon, stay where you are” Mirae said, patting her adoptive brother on the shoulder. 

 

Police cars were arriving, followed by fire trucks, and everyone was surrounding the scene. The four of them stepped outside. “What do you think happened?” Chanyeol asked them. 

 

“Gas leak, or someone left something on the stove for too long, electrical problems,” Jaehwan shrugged. “Or maybe foul play?” he eyed the three of them. 

 

“Is there anyone inside?” Mirae asked, standing on tiptoe as more people flocked to watch what was going on. Firemen and police officers were closing off the part of the street, aiming gallons of water at the store to put the fire out. 

 

Hyuk stared at the building. He could feel a presence. “Yes, I think they’re at the back, they’re trapped” he said. 

 

Chanyeol nodded. “This is right up my alley” he said, and quietly snuck towards the side and into the blast. Jaehwan followed close behind, trying to cover for him as he crept into the alley. Once he was out of sight, Jaehwan turned to try and open the door knob of the back entrance, groaning at the white-hot metal he was turning and broke it open. As he opened the door, he suddenly stepped back when the heat from the flames came out. Chanyeol ran inside, looking around for a closed room. “Anyone in here?” He called out. 

 

‘Restroom’ He suddenly heard Hyuk tell him, and he kicked aside some of the furniture. 

 

“Hey! What are you doing in here, sir! Please evacuate!” The firefighter called out to him upon seeing him walk inside. 

 

“I can’t!” Chanyeol replied as he continued looking around, until he found the door. “They’re in here!” He called to the firefighters and knocked on the door. “I’m here to rescue you, how many you are” He said as he kept on knocking. The door was unlocked, and as Chanyeol opened it, he saw a teenage boy and his mother cowering in fear. “Come with me, I’m here to get you out” he held out his hand to help them up. 

 

“Thank you” The mother stood up, her son leading the way out as they followed the firefighters who also arrived. Chanyeol ran back out, passing by tables and chairs that were burning. He staggered towards the door when he stared at the burning counter. He remembered the faces of W and her guards, getting their souls sucked out and into Mirae’s card. 

 

“Chanyeol!” Jaehwan helped him out of the cafe, as more firefighters hosed down the shop. 

 

He shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment, as the memory came to him more and more. He was recalling everything in flashes. He leaned on Jaehwan for support as they walked back to the crowd, Mirae and Hyuk immediately coming up to him. “Are you okay?” Mirae asked, taking a closer look at him. 

 

“Y-yeah, yeah, I am, it’s probably me being tired” Chanyeol replied, looking back at the crowd. The mother and her teenage son were being attended to by medics. 

 

Hyuk stared at him. “All of a sudden? You walk into a burning house and suddenly you’re tired?” He asked, trying to read his mind. 

 

“It happens” He said. 

 

“But a burning house? You’re practically in your element back there” Hyuk said. 

 

“I said I’m just tired” Chanyeol snapped. “I’ve also been waiting tables and cooking all day if you didn’t notice” he explained. 

 

It was suddenly quiet between the four of them, and it prompted them to go back inside.  As they stepped in, Jihoon was munching on another biscotti. “What happened?” He asked, but instantly noticed the drop in mood between them. 

 

Mirae shook her head. “It’s getting late, and you have class tomorrow. Time to go home” She said. She turned to the rest of them. “We better get going. This has been a good dinner” she said. 

 

Jaehwan nodded. “Me too. I have...stuff to do. I’ll see you guys soon,” He said as well, so did Hyuk, who was a lot quieter as they helped clear out their cups and plates. 

 

It remained quiet when they parted ways, Chanyeol closing up the restaurant once the three of them left. Hyuk took a taxi, while Jaehwan rode the bus and Jihoon and Mirae walked home. It was getting darker outside, and the two of them quietly kept going. “What happened earlier?” Jihoon asked, feeling that it was the right time to do so. 

 

“Chanyeol just snapped for a moment. He uh,” Mirae shrugged. “Saved some people who were trapped in the cafe but then he got all weird when Hyuk asked him why he was tired all of a sudden” she explained. “I found it weird too. He looked like he saw something he shouldn’t have” 

 

“Is it like whenever you wake up in the middle of the night?” Jihoon suddenly asked. She stared at him, slightly taken aback. “You haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep, not even when I’m in the room” he added. 

 

“Maybe, maybe he’s just as shaken as I am,” Mirae said with a sigh. “Hyuk’s no longer used to this much quiet and peacefulness either” 

 

Jihoon wrapped an arm around her. “You seem like you haven’t told me everything, if it’s affected you this much” he said. 

 

“I told you everything, Jihoon. I’m just in a very uncomfortable place right now,” She muttered. The two of them stopped to cross the street. “Plus, memories keep bleeding through ever since Sangyeon removed the trigger” 

 

Jihoon knew it. “Then it’s a good thing you only have the store to think about” he said. 

 

As they turned a corner, they skidded to a halt when they saw an old man being mugged by a thug. “Give me your money” He said. 

 

“I-I don’t have any more, please” the old man pleaded. 

 

Jihoon and Mirae exchanged looks. “I hope your boxing lessons are working out,” she eyed him. “Once we take him down, you try and get a cab for the old man” she instructed. 

 

“Got it” he said, and the two of them kept walking. “Hey! Leave the man alone” he called out. 

 

“Mind your own business” The thug said as they approached him. 

 

“He’s minding his own business, you should take your own advice” Mirae gently backed the old man away from the thug, and suddenly stopped when she felt a cold barrel of a gun pointed to her temple. 

 

“He’s my business. He has money, I want that money” The thug said to her, before hitting her with the gun itself, knocking her down. 

 

Jihoon stood still, being careful not to move or make any move even though he was getting angry. “You can take my money, just leave him alone” He held his hands up. “You can even check my pocket, take my wallet, just leave him and my friend alone” 

 

“What’s he to you? Your grandpa?” The thug turned his gun on Jihoon. 

 

He reached into his pocket and took his wallet out. “Come on, take the money I have instead. He said he doesn’t have any money, so take mine” He said. 

 

The thug looked at him, and then at the old man, and shook his head. “Nah, I’d rather take his” he said. 

 

Jihoon gritted his teeth. “If you say so” 

 

Mirae got back up, and the thug pulled the trigger on her, only for him to gape as she continued to get back on her feet. He shot her once, twice, a few more times. “You’re going to buy me new clothes” she said, and punched him, the bullets that hit her falling to the ground. She grabbed the gun from him and put him in a hold. “You leave him alone, you understand?” 

 

The thug was too stunned to speak, but was still trying to break free from her hold. Jihoon turned to the old man. “Please go home now, he can’t hurt you anymore” he said. “Please go home!” he said. 

 

The old man was just as stunned upon watching them before hurrying away, and Jihoon knew it was mostly because of Mirae surviving. “When someone says to take their money instead, you take it!” Mirae tightened her hold on the thug, who was now crying out in pain. 

 

“I’m just doing my job” The thug sputtered. 

 

Mirae and Jihoon eyed each other. “Job? Come on, tell me, who do you work for? And please don’t lie, because you already know what happens if you try and kill me” She said, tightening her hold some more, making the thug scream. 

 

“Yeah. If you don’t want to tell us, we’ll have to make you talk” Jihoon glared. 

 

She tightened her hold even more, making the man choke. “Come on, time to start singing or your neck’s going to break” she said. 

 

“K-Kang Ent! Kang Ent, that’s the name!” the man cried out and she let go. He fell to his knees, coughing. 

 

“Kang Ent? Is Ent short for entertainment?” Mirae asked. 

 

“Kang Entertainment” The man coughed, and Jihoon made sure to snatch the gun away first. 

 

She watched him. “What’s so special about that man you tried to mug?” she asked. 

 

“I-” he coughed some more. “I don’t know, I was only given orders to corner him, get his money,” he wheezed. “Don’t-please don’t kill me, don’t kill me, I won’t go near him anymore, I promise!” 

 

“You better” Jihoon said. “Now run along before we decide to keep you” 

 

The thug got back on his feet and ran away, clutching his throat still. They looked at each other. “Why would an entertainment agency be after an old man?” Mirae muttered. She looked down at her clothes, which had become stained and tattered from the gunshots, and covered over the holes with her jacket. 

 

“Do you think the old man had something?” Jihoon asked. 

 

“I don’t know, we can only hope he doesn’t get bothered. Come on, let’s go” Mirae said, and they kept walking. 

 

~ 

 

In the middle of the night at Summerland, Kim Younghoon quietly stepped inside the garage, holding his bags and the keys to one of the cars. He was followed by two other boys, his colleagues Lee Juyeon and Ji Changmin, who were also bringing their bags. “Are you sure the two of you want to leave too?” He asked once he found the car. 

 

“Yeah, we are. There are a lot of us in the group, we can’t be here forever” Changmin nodded. 

 

Juyeon also nodded in agreement. “Exactly. I think we can help you” 

 

The taller looked at the two of them. “Both of you do know why I’m doing this, right?” 

 

“Yeah, you want to be nearer to Mirae” Changmin replied. “You’re also worried about her, I found that out through Hyunjoon this morning” he added. 

 

Younghoon had been worrying about Mirae. Every time he slept over, he had woken up to see her awake at this hour, looking very shaken. He knew she had trouble sleeping, that she was beginning to remember everything that happened to her before and that she was still unsettled after the Bermuda mission, and he was worried and wanted to be with her. 

 

“Come on, we don’t have much time, Ino and Sangyeon might be looking for us already” Changmin urged, the car doors unlocking on its own and opening for them, including the trunk, and placed his bags inside. 

 

“Sangyeon and Ino may already know” Younghoon placed his bags in the trunk, so did Juyeon. They got in the car and Changmin opened the garage doors while he fastened his seatbelt. Since the Bermuda mission, he realized what else he could do with his powers and to what extent he could go. He was more powerful than he thought and he felt that it was time to deal with the real world, perhaps follow in the footsteps of Mirae, Hyuk, and Chanyeol. 

 

Younghoon drove the car out of the garage and out of the facility, going down the route he always took whenever he’d leave to stay with Mirae. It began to rain, and he was having trouble maintaining the speed as he drove back into the city, Juyeon and Changmin looking out the window for a sign of something familiar. It took him longer to arrive in front of the building where Mirae and Jihoon lived, making sure to park his car at a spot nearby. “We’re here?” Juyeon asked, and followed the older out, putting his hood up as he opened the trunk, taking their bags out. 

 

“Yeah we are” He replied, and the three of them hurried inside the building. 

 

“I didn’t notice you left often” Juyeon muttered as they climbed the stairs to Mirae and Jihoon’s floor. 

 

Changmin chuckled. “He’s been leaving every weekend, Juyeon” he pointed out as they stopped at their floor. They skidded to a halt when they saw the sleepy figure of Jihoon standing by the door of their apartment. 

 

“Sorry we had to come this late, but it’s good you got my message” Younghoon said. 

 

Jihoon shook his head and stood aside to let the three of them in, his brows furrowed at the sight of Juyeon and Changmin before going inside and closing the door behind him. “Who are you two? Both of you look familiar” he asked. 

 

“Juyeon, and Changmin. They were with us in Summerland and at the Bermuda mission” Younghoon explained. “You went to Summerland before, remember?”

 

That made the younger’s eyes widen. “Oh, oh yeah yeah, you two also have powers, right?” And his question was answered when Juyeon transformed into metal before him. Changmin on the other hand, brought out his lucky coin, spinning it around his fingers before pocketing it again. “Wow” he said in awe. 

 

“Where’s Mirae?” Juyeon spoke this time. 

 

Jihoon gestured to the other door next to what they figured was his room. “She’s finally sleeping for once, or again at least,” he said. “Make yourselves comfortable. The bathroom’s down the hall to the right and the sofa can be turned into a bed.” He cleared away the junk food wrappers on the coffee table. 

 

“Where are you sleeping?” Juyeon turned to Younghoon. Changmin and Jihoon just smiled, and Younghoon quietly gestured to Mirae’s room. “Oh, oh right, I’d be very careful” he advised. 

 

“I’ll try” He said. 

 

“We’ll just explain this to Mirae tomorrow” Changmin yawned, setting his things aside and quietly moving the table to bring out the bed, Juyeon and Jihoon immediately helping him. 

 

“Good night” Younghoon said, and he brought his suitcase in Mirae’s room, quietly closing the door behind him. 

 

~ 

 

Elsewhere, Hyuk was pacing in the living room of his apartment, having gotten out of bed. He kept thinking about what happened earlier. From the cafe explosion to Chanyeol’s sudden change in behavior. He knew Chanyeol must have seen something or heard something that made him act that way, and it was strange. Chanyeol almost never snapped over something like that. 

 

Even then, something didn’t feel right about the incident. 

 

But that unsettling feeling seemed to grow, and Hyuk found himself stopping in front of his couch and sitting down. He remembered the Bermuda mission again. The water that broke into the ship, the explosions, the demons, and Sangyeon’s possession. The memories seemed only make the feeling get worse and he closed his eyes to take deep breaths. 

 

He had been doing that a lot lately, trying not to let the memories of last year get to him. Hyuk didn’t know why this particular event was what rattled him, but it did. The Seoul attack made him more confident to use his powers, the encounter with the Utopian cult strengthened his abilities, and then this? What was it about the Bermuda mission that made him this uncomfortable? 

 

He didn’t bother going back to bed. He didn’t bother to sleep at all with his constant recollection of their Bermuda mission. He had some recording to do at the studio, but he suddenly couldn’t find it in himself to even attend. He was still reeling from the events last year. His focus was getting rattled.

 

The whole city was quiet, except for the sounds of sirens and lights flashing from afar. The electricians were probably fixing the power outage, he figured. Hyuk closed his eyes and took deep breaths again, trying to calm himself down after the sudden bout of anxiety and worry that came over him. 

 

It seemed to work, until he noticed his coat hanging by the door. The same coat he wore when they left for the Bermuda mission. It was tattered in some places, but he had it fixed. Even then, the memories that came with that coat were as vivid as ever. He was a lot more shaken than he thought he was.

 

~ 

 

The following morning, the news of the explosion was reported on television. Jaehwan watched the report in the kitchen, while his guardians, Bom and Dongwook, and his parents were preparing breakfast for themselves. “Citizens nearby were shocked at a sudden explosion occurred at the coffee shop named K.E. Coffee last night,” the reporter read out. “Police are currently still investigating the source of the explosion, but according to police detective Kim Byunghun, it is most likely an accident” 

 

Jaehwan remembered the day he met the detective for the first time. He, along with Hyuk and Chanyeol were brought to the station after being shot with darts upon discovering that Mirae was triggered and taken away. “We’re certain that the explosion may have been an accident, perhaps an employee may have accidentally left something on, or there may be faulty wiring or a gas leak,” Byunghun explained. “But we’re not going to rule out the possibility of foul play or sabotage by a person or persons unknown. No further comments” He finished. 

 

“Wow, so many accidents happening lately, is the government not paying attention to the citizens’ security now? I thought we’d have known better from what happened 2 years ago,” His mother said, setting down bowls of rice on the table. 

 

“Accidents?” Jaehwan suddenly asked. That seemed to make something tick. He was so preoccupied with his music that he couldn’t pay attention to whatever else went on around him. 

 

“Yeah, I mean, accidents happen, but big accidents like that happening twice a week for the past month? Something must be going on,” She replied. That made Bom and Dongwook look at him knowingly. 

 

Jaehwan shrugged. “What kind of accidents?” He asked. 

 

“Factory fires,” Dongwook suddenly said. “Shop explosions, construction mishaps. They’re building something new over the place that blew up last year, you know” he explained. 

 

“Really? What’s going to be built over there?” 

 

“A memorial for the victims of the abductions last year, and a luxury shopping complex” Bom said, and there was a slight twinkle in her eye when she said it. Dongwook shook his head at her. “What? They’re nearly done, aren’t they? I can’t wait to go there when it opens” 

 

“I’m not buying you another pair of those shoes you love so much” Dongwook pointed out, and the rest of them laughed. 

 

Nodding, Jaehwan got up and reached for the cup of coffee his mother poured for him. “I should get ready to leave, recording’s not going to wait for me” He smiled and climbed up the stairs to his room. He was beginning to piece together what his guardians and his parents told him. He needed to find out more of what was going on lately. Something no longer felt right, and there was an eerie atmosphere hovering over the city, yet again. Just when he thought it was all over. 

 

He sat down in front of his computer, looking up all the accidents that occurred. Knowing what Dongwook told him was enough to be suspicious that something was going on. While Jaehwan was mostly concerned, there was also that feeling of excitement. The feeling of getting to use his powers again, see if he, along with Chanyeol, Hyuk, and Mirae, would be able to do what they previously did with the Utopian cult. Jaehwan got out his notebook and began to take notes, his eyes widening slightly at every news piece of the accidents that previously occurred. He paused to take his phone out and send Mirae, Hyuk, and Chanyeol a message in their group chat. 

 

_ Jjaeni: There is something going on. Let’s meet up today.  _

 

He typed, and before he could put his phone down, a reply popped up. 

 

_ Hyuk: I was thinking the same thing. Where?  _

 

Jaehwan thought for a moment, then typed his reply. 

 

Jjaeni: The usual place. 

 

_ Hyuk: Got it. I’ll be there. Don’t be late for your recording either.  _

 

The telepath’s message made him jump out of his seat. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chanyeol stared at the tv in the midst of preparing to open the restaurant. “In the early hours of the morning, a man was found murdered inside his apartment,” the news anchor reported, and it cut to some footage at the scene of the crime. It was an old man, lying face down on the floor of his living room. “CCTV footage revealed that he had arrived around midnight, and some unknown assailants wearing masks were at the door.” 

“Horrible way to die,” Taeil suddenly said, having come out of the kitchen. “Why couldn’t they have let the man die in peace or something?” 

“The question is, what did they want with him? They could have picked anyone in that building,” Chanyeol muttered, his eyes fixed on the news report. “They could have shot everyone to make it a massacre” he shrugged. 

Taeil gave him a look, then turned back to the tv. “We’re currently doing everything we can to solve this case,” reported the detective. “We’re gathering as much evidence and having our teams examine the surveillance footage” she finished. 

The fire-bender raised a brow. “That’s an assuring statement. That only means they have no idea what went on” he pointed out, and Taeil laughed, heading back inside the kitchen. He got his phone out, and to his surprise, there were already a few messages coming from their group chat, from both Jaehwan and Hyuk, asking them to meet. Mirae hadn’t replied yet, but Chanyeol figured she already knew. 

~ 

Meanwhile, Mirae woke up with a start. The sound of the gunshots resounded in her head as she had yet another nightmare. The memories of the Bermuda mission, the encounter the night before, and more memories of her training came through. 

“Again” Miran’s voice echoed in her head. “You are pulling your punches. Never hesitate!” 

“Emotions are meaningless. You will find that there is no other place for that” Changseok told her. “Much like there is no place for you except here” 

“Never hesitate! Never show mercy! That is the only way!” 

“I am not the world-breaker!” She heard Sangyeon’s shouts and the sounds of glass breaking and the water rushing in. 

Mirae buried her face in her hands, the tears suddenly streaming down her face as a wave of sadness, anger, fear, and guilt came over her. “I have a place, I have a place, I have a place” she whispered to herself. 

She felt a hand on her shoulder. Younghoon had also woken up, hair all tousled, and he was wearing a sweater that almost covered his hands. He blinked a few times to wake up, sitting up all of a sudden. “Mirae” he whispered. “Mirae” 

She rocked back and forth, wiping her eyes and face. “I have a place, I’m not who they turned into, I’m not, I’m not” she kept whispering, her voice a little shaky. 

Younghoon wrapped his arms around her. “Mirae,” he said, smoothing her hair. “Mirae, are you okay?” He whispered in her ear. She immediately turned to him and hugged him tightly. “A nightmare?” He asked, and she nodded. “It’s okay, it’s okay, it was just a nightmare, and,” he looked down at her. “Whatever you might have remembered, remember that it’s done. It’s in the past, you’re here, with me” he assured her. “Breathe, just breathe” 

Mirae took deep breaths, her eyes shut tight. The tears had stopped but what she still felt remained. The more she held onto Younghoon, she was starting to calm down. 

Jihoon suddenly went inside, skidding to a halt when he saw Mirae. “Uh, noona?” He said. There was a shocked expression on his face. 

She slowly looked up at the younger. “What is it?” 

“The man, the man we saved last night,” He began. “He was killed this morning” 

“Killed?” She let go and got out of bed, pulling on her shorts and stopping for a moment when she saw Juyeon and Changmin on the couch. Younghoon got out of bed as well, pulling on his gloves and pajama pants. Jihoon pointed to the tv. Mirae sat down. She stared at the tv. “How do you know it’s the same one we saved last night?” 

“He was wearing the same thing, and he was home around the same time, I think, and his photo came up too,” Jihoon explained. “Looking back, we should have really asked for his name…” 

“We should have. But the lead we got is enough to follow the trail” Mirae said. She glanced at Juyeon and Changmin. “I thought you guys were in Summerland” she said. She looked at Younghoon, who was standing by the door of the bedroom. “You brought them here?” 

“They wanted to come with me, they also wanted to see you” he explained. 

Mirae looked back at Juyeon and Changmin. “...Why?” 

“We thought it was time for us to be able to do something on our own” Juyeon replied. 

“There’s so many of us anyway, and Jihoon told me that there are only four of you. Sooner or later, you’ll need more people to help” Changmin added. 

“What happens here in this city isn’t going to be as big as the Bermuda mission” Mirae pointed out. “I figured you were all more into the bigger stuff. This is small” she said. She stood back up, hearing her phone buzz from the bedside table. 

Jjaeni: There is something going on. Let’s meet up today.  
Hyuk: I was thinking the same thing. Where?  
Jjaeni: The usual place.  
Hyuk: Got it, I’ll be there. Don’t be late for your recording either.  
-  
Hyuk: Something’s happening to Chanyeol, Viva Polo, ASAP!

~

As soon as the news was done, Chanyeol changed the channel, stopping at a program that was showing beaches and islands from all over the world. He stood up to clean the rest of the tables and prepare, partly listening to what was being said about a certain place. “Next up, the wonderful island of Bermuda!” said an announcer. 

Chanyeol froze midway of cleaning, his eyes gazing up at the screen. The memories rushed back. The red sky, the damaged ship, Sangyeon’s possession, the flocks of demons. He staggered back to the floor, one of his hands suddenly getting engulfed in flames. His heart was pounding, and he was breaking into a cold sweat. The flames were appearing and disappearing from his hands, and he was trying his best not to set anything on fire. This sudden feeling of dread and fear came over him, and he staggered back some more, the rest of his body getting engulfed in flames, and setting the tablecloth behind him on fire. 

“Oh my god” Chanyeol’s mother rushed inside, gaping at the sight of her son’s flaming figure cowering on the floor. “Chanyeol! Chanyeol!” she knelt down, trying to touch him. “What’s happening? What’s happening to you?” 

“What’s going on?-” Taeil suddenly came out, but he stopped and froze as he saw Chanyeol. He grabbed the fire extinguisher nearby and aimed it at the older boy, effectively putting out the flames from him and the tablecloth, and Chanyeol had appeared again, all covered in foam and looking shaken. 

“What happened? I heard noises-” Chanyeol’s father also came in, looking concerned. He also knelt down next to his mother and looking at him. “Are you okay, son?” He said. 

“Breathe, just breathe” his mother said. She turned to her husband. “Close the windows, put down the screen. Taeil, go back inside the kitchen” she instructed, and Taeil nodded, backing away. 

There was a knock on the door, making them look up. “We’re not yet open!” Chanyeol’s father called out. 

“Chanyeol! It’s us!” It was Jaehwan, standing outside. 

“Let them in” Chanyeol’s mother said, and his father opened the door slightly. Jaehwan and Hyuk stepped in, and saw Chanyeol on the floor. Mirae had arrived as well, and they bent down to take a look at him. 

Hyuk closed his eyes, trying to read his mind. He opened his eyes again. “He’s had a panic attack.” He explained. 

“I’ll be fine, really, I’ll be fine” Chanyeol nodded, assuring them. 

Jaehwan looked at the three of them, expression full of concern. “Something happened last year that has affected the three of you more than you thought. Which isn’t good considering that there’s something happening again” 

“We’ll power through this, I know we can. I kind of encountered something last night too,” Mirae looked at them. “The man that was killed at his apartment this morning was the same man Jihoon and I ran into last night on the way home” 

The four of them got up. Chanyeol wiped away the foam from his clothes. “The back room, I’ll just clean this up, and” he grabbed the remote and changed the channel again. He looked back at his parents, who were watching him. “I think we need to explain something to Taeil since he saw everything” 

“Don’t worry about that, we’ll do the explaining, you just get yourself cleaned up, we’ll bring in something to eat” His mother said, and ushered them to the back. “If something’s happening again as you say, we had best be prepared” 

“We know what to do, Chanyeol, don’t worry about us” his father then said, closing the door behind them. 

Once the door was closed, Chanyeol wiped his face and his hair free from the foam. “So, what’s going on? Why the message?” He asked. 

Jaehwan sat down on the nearest chair, reached into his bag and pulled out his notebook. “I was watching the news earlier, about the investigation when that coffee shop exploded? I realized that there have been a lot of big accidents occurring in the past 2 weeks,” He began, looking at each of them. 

“Accidents happen every day, though, big and small” Mirae said. 

He shook his head. “Not this kind of accident. I looked up this latest one, and the ones that happened before that, it seems like there’s a pattern. Like someone’s deliberately causing all these construction mishaps, destroying establishments, factory fires” he read out the notes he had taken. “I was going to do some more digging until Hyuk said to come here because something was happening to Chanyeol” he finished. 

“There are casualties, then? Victims?” Hyuk asked. 

Jaehwan nodded. “The factory fire killed a dozen people, one condominium was destroyed with the landlord being the only casualty, a fashion boutique was trashed and looted and get this, the employees were all found beaten up and shot in the back room” he explained. 

Chanyeol, Hyuk, and Mirae closed their eyes at his explanation. “For the past 2 years, we’ve dealt with cults, demons, and aliens,” Hyuk muttered. “I think this time, we’re looking at the dirty work of a gang” 

“A gang? Like the mafia? Like The Godfather kind of thing?” Chanyeol looked shocked, and they nodded. Jaehwan looked just as surprised. 

“The man who was killed in his apartment, was the same one Jihoon and I ran into last night on the way home,” It was Mirae’s turn to explain. “He was getting mugged by this thug, and let’s just say I roughed him up a bit when he said he was only acting under orders to mug the man because he wouldn’t take Jihoon’s money instead. I asked him who he was working for and he said Kang Ent.” 

Hyuk was the one who looked surprised this time, Jaehwan even more so. “Kang Ent. Kang Entertainment?” He was in disbelief. 

“What’s there about Kang Entertainment?” Chanyeol raised a brow. 

“Kang Entertainment is the lesser known but equally successful agency that many trainees want to audition in,” The telekinetic explained. “I auditioned there once back when I was still working at Mirae’s store, but I didn’t make the final cut, so I joined Jiho in the agency he put up” 

“I knew that there were unusual things happening behind this scenes, but this takes it to a whole other level” Jaehwan sat back. 

“So in a nutshell, we’re dealing with a gang that owns Kang Ent. ?” Mirae asked. 

“Owns, or they’re doing the company’s dirty work?” Jaehwan shrugged. He suddenly sat up. The four of them stared at each other. “I guess this means we’re back in action, then” 

“Are we?” Chanyeol looked a little unsure. 

“It only makes sense, doesn’t it?” Jaehwan asked. “Why else would you run into that guy who was killed?” He glanced at Mirae. “You saved some people at the shop that got destroyed across the street,” he turned to Chanyeol. “You know something about Kang Ent too,” he looked at Hyuk. “Don’t you miss helping people close to home?” he hoped this would convince them. 

“Ever since we came from the Bermuda mission, things just changed a lot, I mean, we weren’t the same people we knew before we left” Mirae said with a shrug. 

“I never thought I’d suffer from a panic attack either…” Chanyeol looked down in embarrassment. 

Jaehwan looked at the three of them with concern. “I’m not an expert, but I think this could help the three of you. I read somewhere that a way to treat this is by confronting it head on, or at least expose yourself to the same kind of danger or triggering situation” he tried to recall. He wasn’t entirely sure about it, but he still hoped it would convince them either way. 

“He’s right” Hyuk suddenly spoke. “We haven’t been okay up in the head for a while since last year” 

Mirae nodded. “We’ll be fine, we’ll pull through” She assured them, including Jaehwan. “We have to.”

“So? Are we doing this?” The tracker carefully asked. 

Hyuk, Chanyeol, and Mirae looked at each other. “It’s the only way we can get better, and it’s the only way for this to stop” the telekinetic murmured. “I’m in” 

“Me too” Said Chanyeol.

“And me” Mirae nodded. 

~

“It’s a man’s world out there,” an old man was seated behind a desk in an office. His face was obscured, but his cold voice sent chills to everyone in the room, including an elegantly dressed middle-aged woman who had a Pomeranian on her lap, his wife. “I hate to have to say it, but it’s true, you know?” The woman could feel him looking at her from the dark. “So when a man is wronged, the honorable thing for the one who did him wrong is to make things right again. It may be painful for him, but if he wants to be on good terms, he will do it” 

The door of the office suddenly opened, and the room was suddenly filled with the sounds of someone pleading and begging. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t finish the job-Please forgive me” his face was on the ground as he continuously did formal bows towards the man behind the desk. 

“May I ask, why you weren’t able to finish the job last night, Gary? Did I not ask you to take in Shin Jaewook and bring him to me? I wanted his head on a platter, and unfortunately, you weren’t able to give me what I want” 

He was breaking into sobs. “Someone, a woman, stopped me before I could b-bring him in,” he stammered. 

“The only logical thing for you to have done was to pull the trigger. You were armed, right?” A tall, muscular, much younger man in a suit, Kang Baekho, suddenly spoke from the side of the room, looking frustrated. 

“I was-I was,” he was sobbing. “I fired so many shots at her, I tried to kill her, but she’s invulnerable to harm” 

Baekho rolled his eyes and kicked the man down. “A likely story” 

“It’s true!” Gary spat out blood. “She’s still alive! She’s still there somewhere!” he said. 

Before Baekho could do anything more, the smaller, scrawnier boy on the other side of the room named Kang Seungyoon, suddenly spoke. “If I may, I think that woman he ran into may be part of those mutants that were involved in the Seoul attack 2 years ago” 

“I heard,” Another smaller and scrawnier male, Kang Hyunggu, also spoke. “She was part of those people who further blew up the Ilsan Youth Hostel last year too” 

The old man behind the desk hummed. “Do you think so?” he narrowed onto Gary. 

“Yes! Yes! She is one! Please forgive me-I will do better next time! I swear to you!” he pleaded. 

“Very well. I want a dossier on her. Younghyun,” He called the man playing with the dog. “Get Chani, have him try and tail her, ask around, I want to know about her and those people she’s associated with” He instructed. “I also want dossiers on all of them as soon as possible.” 

“Yes, father” He nodded, and left the room. 

As soon as the door closed, he turned to Gary again. “You see, my sons know never to disappoint. It teaches them the value of commitment, of honoring one’s word, it teaches them to never settle for anything less either. As I am a forgiving man, especially today, as it is my daughter Jinyi’s birthday, I will let you off, with another task,” He began again, and with a snap of his fingers, the bodyguards that were standing by the doors of the office came forward. “One of my sons, Daniel, is on his way to debuting. He’s on this show, where he has a bigger chance of debuting as a singer. He’s a talented one, my son. Always works hard, and has the scars to prove it. I want you to see the producer of the show, a Mr. Ji Jinseok, and tell him to give me a call. I will make him an offer he won’t dare refuse.” 

~ 

Jihoon watched Juyeon, Changmin, and Younghoon eat lunch in the dining room. Having them around reminded him that they needed to buy groceries and the thought made him wrinkle his nose. “So, was what you told Mirae the real reason why you’re here?” He suddenly asked. “I know why Younghoon would be here, but what about both of you?”

“I thought about it,” Changmin began in between bites of rice. “It took me a year to think things over, and I realized that there are a lot of us, including our mentors, you know? We’re like one big class, and I figured it was time I sort of “graduated” and went to the real world, using my powers for the benefit of everyone” 

“From what Mirae told me, you did more than that even before the Bermuda mission” Jihoon said. “She also said it was pretty cool” 

“Like what?” The metal-bender asked curiously. 

“You saved her last year, at the university. Kept the bullet from entering her head” He explained. 

“Oh-oh yeah,” Changmin nodded. “She saved me during the mission too. Healed me up when I was badly wounded. I nearly died” he recalled. 

It was Juyeon’s turn to speak. “I came too because I wanted to learn from her more. She said she’d teach me and Kevin how to fight but she left Summerland after the Bermuda mission, so I was hoping she could this time” He explained.

Jihoon raised a brow, then nodded, not bothering to ask about it further. He grabbed his backpack. “Okay, I have to go, I’ve got class in 30 minutes. I guess you guys can stay here for a while, at least until Mirae knows what to do with you” he explained, slipping his bag on. 

They waved at him as he left, and once the door was shut, Juyeon and Changmin turned to Younghoon. “What?” he asked. 

“He’s...Mirae’s younger brother?” Juyeon said. 

“Yeah. Technically they’re not related at all, but they do regard each other as siblings,” Younghoon explained. “That’s why they live together” 

“Doesn’t he get uncomfortable about you two?” Changmin asked curiously. 

He shook his head. “He took it really well, I think. Mirae’s the one who was worried about it at first” he replied. 

The door suddenly opened again, and in came Mirae, looking rushed. The three of them stood up. “Jihoon’s left already?” She asked, noticing the absence of a backpack on the coat hanger. 

“Yeah, what got you leaving earlier? What’s happened?” Younghoon asked, while the three of them cleaned up the dishes they used. 

“Uh, Chanyeol suffered a panic attack. Apparently it got worse or something, accidentally set a tablecloth on fire while he was setting tables” She explained. 

Younghoon, Juyeon, and Changmin gaped at her. “A panic attack?” 

“Yes, a panic attack” Mirae looked at them. “But we’re fine, hopefully we are, we need to be fine, especially after what we’ve found” she said. 

“Found? Found? What did you find?” Changmin suddenly perked up, and he approached her, Juyeon and Younghoon following behind. 

Mirae bit her lip and stared at each of them. “There are accidents that have been happening lately, bigger than usual, and we have a feeling that this is all done by a gang” She explained quietly. “The man who was killed in his apartment this morning was the same man the thug I roughed up was going after, he works for this family, Kang Ent.” 

“Kang Ent? Kang Entertainment? I know someone there” Changmin said. 

“You do? Who?” 

“Jinyi. Kang Jinyi, we were classmates in this dance workshop once, before I left for Summerland. Her family owns that company” The metal-bender replied. 

~ 

Jaehwan stepped inside the recording booth. “When you’re ready, we can start” Jiho said from outside. Hyuk was standing by the door and observing. He slipped on the headphones and gave Jiho a thumbs up. The music began to fill his ears from the headphones and he sang the first few lines of his composition. 

Even when he was singing, he couldn’t stop thinking about what else they needed to do after this, and what their plans could be to put an end to the disturbances that were once again going on, after a year of what seemed like peace. What was Kang Entertainment going to gain from all of this? Why were they causing so much trouble? He wanted to find out. 

“Can we do that last part again?” Jiho suddenly spoke, making him snap out of it. “You look a little distracted, focus” He added. 

“Sorry, my mind really is somewhere else today, but I’ll do it again” Jaehwan cleared his throat, and as the music played again, he started singing. 

Hyuk was thinking the same thing. The two of them were distracted with the thought of what an agency like Kang Entertainment was doing. He thought it was best to leave Jaehwan to work on his music while he did some investigating to wait. He stood back up. “I’ll be in the other studio, working on some stuff. I’m locking the door so knock three times” He muttered. Jiho only nodded and he left the room. 

As he stepped outside and closed the door behind him, he felt a presence coming from the entrance. Someone was looking for him and Jaehwan. “I need to speak to Jaehwan and Hyuk sunbaenim!” he could hear their thoughts. It was a girl, a younger girl, about Jaehwan’s age, he thought. 

He heard the door behind him rumble a bit, and Jaehwan stumbled out, followed by Jiho, who looked completely befuddled by what he did. “I heard it too, what’s going on?” He got up on his feet. 

“What’s with you? You just stormed out of recording!” Jiho sounded frustrated. He turned to Hyuk. “Do you happen to know what got him rushing?” 

“I do, and it’s coming from the entrance” Hyuk said. “So much for trying to look everything up, Jaehwan, you should go back and record, I’ll handle it” He assured the younger. 

“Okay. Let me know, hmm?” Jaehwan pointed to his temple. 

“Me too, whatever it is” Jiho also pointed to his temple, before shoving Jaehwan back inside the room. “Ya! We have to start over!” He yelled, before closing the door. 

Hyuk chuckled at the exchange for a moment, then walked as quickly as he could towards the entrance. He saw the girl, trying to talk to the security guards, and behind her was a clueless looking middle-aged man, looking around as if he didn’t know why he was there. He seemed to be her manager, the telekinetic thought. He approached the desk. “Uh, excuse me?” He cut into the conversation. 

The girl looked relieved. “Sunbaenim! I need to speak to you now! Please, it’s something important!” she pleaded, and Hyuk looked taken aback. 

He tried to read her mind. Her name was Kang Jinyi, and the man behind her was her soon-to-be-manager. “Okay, please let her in” He said to the guard, and she passed through, her manager following close behind. 

“I’m really sorry for suddenly troubling you, it’s just that-” She looked around, and then at her manager. “You can just wait for me-”

“At the cafeteria. Tell the ladies to put your order under my name” Hyuk finished, and the man bowed before looking around for a sign leading to the room. Once he was out of earshot, he led them to the other hall. “So, what are you here for? Is it about your family?” He asked, having heard her thoughts. 

Jinyi stared at him, slightly surprised. “You know about my family?” She asked. 

“Your thoughts are very loud. I also know you know what Jaehwan and I are,” Hyuk replied, keeping his voice down as they walked. “But I’ll let you explain, I was about to do some digging earlier when you showed up” 

She looked afraid. “Can we talk somewhere more private? This is really important.” She suggested. 

They stepped inside an empty conference room. As they sat down, they heard the lock click. “So explain? If you have time, you can explain when Jaehwan is here” He said. 

Jinyi sighed and took out a thick folder from her bag. “Yes, my family is the source of all these accidents happening lately, I admit to that, but no matter how much I will apologize, I know it won’t do anything good, everything’s gone from bad to worse. Here,” She opened the folder, containing candid pictures of all of them. “I managed to steal those from my father’s desk this morning, he’s already read through them..” 

Hyuk looked through the files. “Dossiers, on me, Jaehwan, Mirae, and Chanyeol,” He muttered, feeling a pang of fear rush through him as he skimmed through what was on the form. There were even pictures of Mirae and Younghoon together, and information about every single one of them, where they worked, who their families and friends are, where they would often go. How could he not have felt this? He would have known if they were being followed or watched, he thought. “So, your family is now onto us” 

She nodded, unable to look at him anymore. “I hate that they’re doing this, but now they know the four of you are getting in their way ever since Gary was stopped from taking Shin Jaewook in by the girl last night,” She explained. She leaned on the table. “It’s a brutal war, between my family and Shin Jaewook’s family. I want this to end because innocent people are getting caught in the middle of it all. I’m not proud to say that I’ve witnessed these deaths occur half the time and did nothing, but I just can’t take it anymore. Shin Jaewook is the right-hand man of the Shin Family Head, and I know for certain that the Head will be trying to take revenge, as they have in those other accidents,” 

He nodded. “So what’s been happening lately is the work of both gangs, then?” He asked, and she nodded. 

“My brother Daniel and I, just want to live humbly and quietly, without any trouble to our name, but how can we when my father still believes in this whole thing as do my other brothers?” She sulked. 

“And you think we can stop them?” Hyuk said. 

“Yes, the four of you are more than capable of handling them. Much more, they might not have a fighting chance against you,” She pointed out. “I know you’d be risking a lot, especially since you guys don’t want to be known as the ones who saved everyone from that cult last year, or that you guys do this at all, but I have no one else to turn to about this, the police wouldn’t take action either,” She was on the verge of tears. “Can you help?” 

Hyuk tried to read her mind again, as if making sure she was genuine with her intentions or if she was lying. It was possible that Jinyi would act like she doesn’t want a war and at the same time lure them into a trap. Yet, it would be difficult to see why she wouldn’t sincerely want to end this, he thought. He needed to make a decision, but he wanted everyone to be aware of it first. “If you have time today, you can meet with all of us later. I’m sure you still have some practices to do, and we also have some work to do, so before I make a decision, I’ll need to ask them first” He explained, trying to word everything as simply as possible. 

Jinyi nodded and let out an exasperated sigh. “I understand. I’m willing to pay all of you my whole trust fund if you say yes” She said, sounding desperate. 

He shook his head. “Money is not important to us. We have jobs” He replied. 

“I figured, but I am still willing to lay down any amount, just name the price if you change your mind” She said. 

“If I were you,” Hyuk leaned on the table. “I’d put that money to good use and try and rebuild the damages instead. We unfortunately don’t have the power to return everything that was destroyed back in its original shape and form, but you do,” He explained. “I’d also save up for a nice house, but you probably already have one, in Gangnam no doubt” 

He sent a telepathic message to both Jaehwan and Chanyeol. Someone needs our help, we need to meet somewhere, he thought. He got out his phone to send Mirae a text as well. Jinyi also got out her phone, mindlessly scrolling through something. “I know where we can meet. The new high-end boutique in Ilsan, where the Youth Hostel used to be. 7 o’clock” She suggested. 

“Okay, we’ll meet you there-” Hyuk looked at the text in his phone. 

Mirae: Younghoon, Juyeon, and Changmin are at my apartment right now. They left Summerland to stay here.

He looked back at Jinyi. “I hope you don’t mind that we have three other people joining us. The other ones in the photos?” He said. Hyuk had a feeling they would need more help in this one.

“Oh, those three, yes. No, I don’t mind at all” She shook her head, figuring it out. “I’m just hoping that we end this as soon as possible before more people get hurt. I don’t want any more bloodshed in the streets. It’s bad enough the government’s a bit shaky nowadays” 

There was suddenly a knock on the door. Hyuk glanced at the knob. There was a click and in came Jaehwan, who suddenly skidded to a halt when he saw Jinyi. He looked a little mesmerized at the sight of her, and he really was. “H-Hi” He said, holding out his hand for her to shake. 

“Hi” Jinyi looked just as awestruck at him, and she shook his hand. They stared at each other. 

Hyuk cleared his throat. “Uh, Jaehwan, this is Kang Jinyi, she’s the one who was looking for us? She’s from the Kang family? That owns Kang Entertainment” He said. 

That made him blink and shake his head. “Sorry, sorry, it’s nice to meet you, Jinyi, uh, um,” He glanced at Hyuk. “So, uh, wh-what are you doing here?” He crossed his arms, trying to maintain his cool. 

Jinyi did the same thing and looked back at Hyuk. Jaehwan locked the door behind him and sat down next to the telekinetic. He cleared his throat and leaned on the table, but leaned back when he saw the files and photos. “What’s this?” He looked at the photos. 

“My family’s dossiers on the four of you” Jinyi replied, frowning once again. “Your female teammate stopped Gary from taking in Shin Jaewook, the man who was reported to be killed this morning,” She explained, and Jaehwan’s expression fell. “My father and my brothers who still support this whole thing, now think that the four of you are getting in the way.” 

Jaehwan stared at her in slight frustration. “They’re out to get us, aren’t they?” He asked, and she nodded. “But you’re here because…?” 

“Because I want to put an end to what my family is doing, as is what the Shin family is planning to do. They’ve been going at it for weeks now, can’t you see?” She said. 

“And you want us to stop them from making things worse?” 

“Yes. I know the four of you are more than capable of doing this. Death seems to always work in your favor too” she said. 

The tracker shook his head. “Only one of us can survive a lot of gunshots, even ones to the head” he muttered, eyes widening slightly when he saw a photo of him bringing a laundry bag inside a laundromat. 

“In any case, the four of you have all the advantages no ordinary person has, I’m willing to compensate for the trouble, just name your amount and I will give it to you” 

Jaehwan nodded slowly in understanding. “In that case-” He was suddenly held back by Hyuk. 

“I told her we don’t need the money. The best way to use all the funds she has is by rebuilding the damages, or at least paying for it” Hyuk cut him off. 

“W-well,” Jaehwan said, upon knowing what the older boy meant, but he couldn’t help but think of what he can do with the money she’d pay them. Perhaps take her on a date when everything is over, he thought, which he shook off immediately when he remembered why she was in front of them at that moment. “Yeah, that does seem like a better use for the money” 

Jinyi suddenly looked hopeful, but Jaehwan still looked confused, as did Hyuk. “Why? Why is this going on? Why are they doing this?” The telekinetic suddenly asked, even though he had an idea of it. 

“Obvious, isn’t it? My family want to stay in power, and the Shin family is giving us a run for our money,” She explained. “Lately, the Shin family has been getting into the arms business, something my father’s already had a hold on, he wants them out” 

“As is the four of us” Hyuk finished, glancing at Jaehwan. “Well, thank you for this information, Jinyi. So far, you’ve only convinced two of us, you’ll have to meet the rest of us later tonight, I think you have a lot of stuff to do before then, like preparing for your debut?” He said. 

Jinyi nodded, and the three of them stood up to leave the room. “I’ll see you then” She suddenly said to Jaehwan. 

“Y-yeah” He replied, the mesmerized look on his face returning when he turned to her, letting her leave the room first before closing the door behind him. Jinyi bid them goodbye before hurrying off, and he watched her. 

Hyuk looked at her, then back at him. “It’s too dangerous, Jaehwan” He advised. 

“I know” He said. 

~ 

A truck suddenly pulled up in front of the store. “Lee Mirae! New shipment!” said the driver named Yoon Jisung, and he got down to open the back. Mirae hurried out, leaving Johnny and her new hires, Lucas and Sungwoon, to assist the rest of the customers in checking out their items. 

“What are we dealing with today?” She asked, following him and his colleague, Bae Jinyoung, to the back, where they pushed up the door, revealing several boxes. 

“OSTs mainly,” Jisung looked at his clipboard. “And some other idol groups” He handed her the board for her to sign. 

“Things seem busy back in there” Jinyoung noticed the crowds coming in and out, some of them already carrying boxes full of albums and dvds. 

“Good for business, though. I’ve had to hire two more people to help me” She explained, handing the clipboard back. They brought down the boxes to the sidewalk one by one. 

“We’re in a hurry, so, we’ll be off” Jisung said, and rushed his colleague to the driver’s seat. He drove the truck away, leaving Mirae to attend to the boxes herself. 

She looked at the towers of boxes filled with albums that she had to bring inside. Taking a deep breath, she carried one. She kept thinking about what they were going to do later. Meet Hyuk, Chanyeol, and Jaehwan at the place where the Center used to be, which was now a high-end shopping mall. Changmin, Juyeon, and Younghoon would also be coming along. Things really have changed, she thought. 

“New shipment?” Younghoon suddenly appeared, Changmin and Juyeon behind him. 

“Uh yeah, yeah, just came in” She replied, and the three boys tried carrying the rest of the boxes, Younghoon in particular carrying four at a time. 

“This guy’s showing off” Changmin said, while Juyeon just shook his head and scoffed at him as Mirae held the door open for them. “Haven’t you two been dating for a year? She should have already seen you do that” he added. 

Younghoon ignored them and put the boxes down on the side. Juyeon ran out to get the remaining boxes and Changmin held the door open for them this time from the couch. Mirae put the box she was holding down, and took out her phone upon feeling it vibrate in her pocket. There was a message from Hyuk. 

Hyuk: 7 p.m tonight. We’ll all meet at the shopping center where the Center once was. Bring them along, there’s someone who wants to talk to us. 

She put her phone away and took a look at the labels of the boxes, freezing at what was printed on each one. The boxes came from Kang Entertainment. “Their artists must have come back!” Changmin suddenly said, having also noticed the labels on the boxes. “Oh! Kang Seungyoon!” He took one album out, then turned to them. “Kang Seungyoon… do you think he could be…?” 

“Part of the family? Maybe” Mirae said. 

Younghoon tilted his head towards one of the smaller boxes. “Hey, I think I hear ticking” He said, making a beeline towards the smallest box from the stack and ripping it open. There were four sticks of dynamite with a timer that only had 10 seconds left. He gaped. “GET OUT” 

“BOMB!” 

The four of them ran out of the store, along with the customers and the clerks, as a big explosion occurred, debris and papers flying in all directions. Changmin and Juyeon stumbled towards the other side of the street while Younghoon and Mirae wound up on the sidewalk, Mirae being covered in some destroyed albums. 

The police cars and fire trucks suddenly arrived. Younghoon quickly got back on his feet to help her up. Her face was covered in scratches and her arms both had a gash. “Mirae, Mirae, are you okay?” He said, holding her while she regained her composure. 

The cuts and the wounds healed up quickly, only leaving blood behind. The store was practically in ruins now. “Manager Lee! Manager Lee!” Johnny and Lucas quickly ran up to her. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine” She said, looking back at the remains of the burning store. “Is everyone okay? What about the customers?” 

“Yeah, yeah, we are. Luckily, there were only two customers left when this happened” Johnny also looked back at what was happening. 

“Go and ask them how they are if they’re still there, go!” Mirae said, and Johnny and Lucas rushed off to the ambulance. She turned back to Younghoon. “Are you okay?” She said. 

“I’m fine,” He nodded and held her close. “Who could have sent that bomb? It’s been ticking all this time” He frowned, running a hand through his hair. 

“I think I know,” Mirae frowned. She looked over at Juyeon and Changmin, who ran across the street towards them. Both of them were covered in thick blankets and their faces had dust from the smoke. “Are you two okay?” She asked, and they nodded. 

“I’ll make a wild guess and say that the one who sent us the bomb also sent the albums over…” Changmin watched the firefighters put out the flames. 

Knowing what she found out today, she knew it was no longer safe again.


	3. Chapter 3

Mirae, Younghoon, Changmin, and Juyeon were back at the apartment after dealing with police officers and paramedics who came to check up on them. As there was no store to tend to, she gave Johnny, Lucas, and Sungwoon their pays and told them to look for other jobs until she could rebuild the store again in case they still wanted to work with her. She stared at the burned down ruins, unsure of what to feel. The place she worked at for most of her life since getting out from the sanitarium was no longer there, just a pile of rubble in its place. 

She looked at the clock on the wall. They still had some time left before they needed to meet the others. Younghoon wrapped an arm around her, squeezing her shoulder comfortingly. “We should get ready. We’re meeting Hyuk, Jaehwan, and Chanyeol someplace. You guys want to get back in action, right? We’re definitely going in action this time” She said, pulling away from him and heading to her room, closing the door behind her. 

“I’ll go check up on her” Younghoon told them. “Go get ready” He repeated, going into the bedroom as well. He opened the door and saw his girlfriend sitting on the edge of the bed, staring into space. He felt his heart sink a little at the sight of her, and he quietly closed the door behind him. “Whatever you’re thinking, tell me” He said. 

Mirae took a deep breath, unable to say anything. She was starting to remember things again. All the destruction from the year before. “This shouldn’t be happening, this should have never happened, me feeling like this,” She looked down, and Younghoon sat next to her. “We shouldn’t be experiencing this, we’re the last people anyone could expect to get affected by the Bermuda mission,” She sounded frustrated. 

“Mirae,” Younghoon said, placing his hand on hers. “It’s not your fault” 

“If anything, Changmin and Hyunjae should be the most affected by this. Changmin nearly died, Hyunjae died and came back to life. Sangyeon got possessed, You, Kevin, and Juyeon nearly drowned, Eric broke a leg and an arm, but us? Hyuk? Chanyeol? Me? We shouldn’t be this shaken” She sounded even more frustrated. “I don’t know what that mission has done to us” 

Younghoon tilted his head to look at her face. “Do you regret going on that mission?” He asked. 

She looked into his eyes. “I don’t. I don’t regret going on that mission at all, we’ve done this a few times already, I just don’t see why this came over us, and now so many people are getting hurt for reasons we have yet to find out” 

He nodded slightly. “We should have all been shaken by it, but it isn’t your fault that this is suddenly happening to you, to Hyuk, to Chanyeol. You did nothing wrong” He leaned in. 

Mirae could feel her eyes well with tears, but she tried to hold back. “You know why I don’t regret going on that mission most of all?” She asked softly, and lifted a hand to touch his cheek. “If I didn’t go, we wouldn’t be together” She murmured. 

A sudden feeling of affection came over Younghoon, and he leaned in to give her a tender kiss, one he realized he hadn’t given her since arriving the night before. “I love you” He whispered upon pulling away. 

“I love you too” She replied, and he kissed her again before pulling away to give her a tight hug. 

~ 

Over at Viva Polo, Chanyeol was getting ready to leave. Ever since he got the message from Hyuk, meeting up was all he could think about. He wanted to see if there were any updates, if Hyuk and Jaehwan found another lead. He still wondered why this was all happening. As he stepped out of the back room, he saw his parents seated on the table nearest to the kitchen and watching the news. “I’ll be leaving now-” 

“Mom!” 

A series of gunshots suddenly pierced through the windows and doors of the restaurant. The three of them, including Taeil and the other chefs, ducked under the tables and chairs as more and more bullets entered, hitting the chairs, breaking glass displays and candles, even putting holes through the pictures and the television. More bullets were hitting the walls, practically destroying the photos and posters that were on it, the pitchers for water and the cash registers were also destroyed. 

Chanyeol stared at the windows, hoping to catch a glimpse of the assailant. It was still pitch black outside, due to the lack of electricity. He couldn’t lean out just yet as more bullets entered the restaurant. He heard someone gasp and his father suddenly groaned. His parents weren’t moving and kept themselves covered. 

He had to do something. How could he get rid of the bullets? He thought. His hand was engulfed in fire, but he quickly put it out. He could also get hit despite being made out of fire. He heard a loud tap, and a sound of a big car driving away, and the shooting stopped. 

Some of the tables and chairs had fallen over, destroyed at the bases or broken in half, including the table he was hiding under. He crawled out, some pieces of broken glass and wood piercing his hands as he tried to get to his feet and uncover the tables where his parents hid. “Mom? Dad?” He said, moving the tables aside. They weren’t moving. “Mom? Dad?” He said again, and his eyes widened as they collapsed on the floor. 

They had been shot a few times. “Mom! Dad!” He yelled frantically, trying to cover the places where the bullet hit them. 

“Chanyeol?” Taeil suddenly called out, coming out of the kitchen. He was shot in the arms. “Chanyeol? What was that?” He said. 

“I-” Chanyeol was getting more and more worried. There was a sudden flashing, and an ambulance and police sirens were growing louder as the cars came onto the scene. “I-I don’t know, mom! Dad!” He tried to check on both of them again. “Mom! Dad!” 

“Sir? Ma’am?” The police officers suddenly came in to check, followed by paramedics, who immediately found them and ushered them out. “It’s okay, you’re safe, we have you” one of them assured him. 

“My parents-my parents!” Chanyeol was overcome with so much worry, watching them being carried out in stretchers and towards the ambulance. “Don’t worry about me, I’m fine, I’m not hurt!” He broke away from the other paramedics and rushed towards the stretchers. At that moment, he didn’t care if he could make the meeting or not, he just wanted to be there for his parents and hope they were going to make it. 

He took his phone out and sent the group a message as he got onto the ambulance, mindlessly cooperating with the medics, his whole focus being on his parents. 

Chanyeol: Our restaurant got shot down. My parents got shot too. I’ll be at the hospital. 

The medics covered him with a blanket and closed the ambulance doors, making headway for the hospital. He suddenly saw his parents stir, and he held their hands. “I’m here, it’s me” He assured them, trying to sound as calm as possible. 

“Chanyeol, thank goodness you’re alright” His mother said, but he shook his head. “Better me than you, you know” 

He kept shaking his head. “It should have been me, for the very reason you know” He muttered, trying not to give anything away in case the medics heard him. “But, I swear I will get to the bottom of this” He said. “I will find answers, and we’ll rebuild the restaurant again” 

~ 

Hyuk rushed inside the hospital upon receiving the message. He hated not having anticipated that they would strike again, delivering harsh blows by directly attacking everyone around them. He was confused on what he should have done. He didn’t want to reveal too much in case their messages were being intercepted, and yet he couldn’t tell any one of them in time to avoid the situations they could potentially be in. 

He heard a car pull up in front, and stopped as Mirae and Younghoon arrived, followed closely by Juyeon and Changmin, all of them also looked shaken. “Are you okay?” He asked Mirae. 

“Yeah, where’s Chanyeol?” Mirae suddenly said. 

“That’s what I’m trying to find out too” Hyuk replied, leading them to the emergency room. A small crowd of police officers were crowding one particular bed. “Chanyeol?” He called out. 

“I’m over here!” A raised hand was waving them over, and the police officers stepped aside to talk. 

“You too, huh?” Mirae said. 

Chanyeol nodded, then stared at her. “Wait, what happened to you?” 

“Someone sent a bomb to the store. Blew it up” She replied. 

“She’s probably there at the mall by now” Hyuk muttered. 

“She? Who’s she?” Younghoon asked. 

“The person we’re going to meet. I told her to tell the rest of you what she told me and Jaehwan earlier. Kang Jinyi” Hyuk said. 

Mirae suddenly eyed Changmin. “I know her! I took the same dance workshop as her sometime before I left for Summerland. I don’t know if she knows me though” He suddenly said. 

“She came to us earlier at the company, practically told us that we’ve become targets” Hyuk explained. 

“So, do we tell her where we are or something? Does anyone happen to have her number?” Mirae asked. Hyuk shook his head. 

“Where’s Jaehwan?” Chanyeol looked around. 

~ 

Meanwhile, Jaehwan had already arrived at the mall. The pillars and the floors were of a white marble that was so shiny he could already see his reflection on them. This was the place where Bom wanted to go, and it was also the place that was built over what used to be the Center of Paranormal Research. All the luxury boutiques were open and ready to serve whoever would be coming in, most, if not all of whom, he figured, were rich heiresses or big time executives with as much money as he could imagine. It also made him wonder if he was dressed appropriately, figuring that he may be too casual in his choice of clothes for tonight. 

It was already 7 p.m., and he was looking for a sign of Jinyi, and especially Chanyeol, Hyuk, and Mirae. “Where could they be?” He muttered to himself, walking inside an all-white, high-ceilinged restaurant where businessmen and some rich middle-aged women were occupying many seats all over. He froze and stared at one of the more private rooms, hearing someone talk and mention his name. 

“Any one of them may be outside by now. Jaehwan, Hyuk, Mirae, Chanyeol, and those other three,” the voice, a woman’s voice, said, and he heard it. 

“Jinyi” He muttered, and took a deep breath, stopping in front of a mirror to check how he looked. He was going to see Jinyi again, and he needed to look good, at least good enough that he could be seen with her. Jaehwan followed the voice he was hearing, clearing his throat as he approached the door of the private dining area. He knocked a few times before opening the door. 

As he has expected, there was Jinyi, seated on one side of the table, and he noticed there were six other place settings. She looked relieved upon seeing him and stood up to greet him properly, looking over his shoulder, then to his surprise, she pulled him inside, making him close the door behind him and nearly falling over.

“Sorry!” They said at the same time, then chuckled. Jinyi however, went back to being serious. 

“Where are the others?” She asked. 

“I-I don’t know, to be honest. Hyuk did say we’re all meeting here, I’m not sure what’s taking them so long to arrive” He replied. “Are more people other than the four of us coming?” He asked. 

She nodded. “Yeah, Hyuk said there are three more of you coming along when I tell you everything, but to be honest, I don’t know if I can tell you here anymore” she said softly. 

“Three?” Jaehwan looked confused. “Three more? You mean Mirae, Hyuk, and Chanyeol, right?” He said. 

Jinyi shook her head. “No, three more. The other ones in the photos..” She replied, then tilted her head towards him curiously. “You mean you don’t know those three?” 

“I-I may not have met them, but since Hyuk said it, then it must be one of those people they worked with last year” Jaehwan tried not to say too much. He wasn’t sure if he could fully trust her, even if she looked so pretty and innocent. If only she wasn’t related to the family responsible for the accidents, he thought. 

~

“We need to find a way to get out of here,” Younghoon said, looking at the small crowd of policemen, and the nurses and security that were trying to reason with them to step out of the room. “Jaehwan must have been waiting, Jinyi too” He added. 

“But-” Mirae glanced at Chanyeol, who still looked worried despite trying to stay calm. “What about you?” 

Chanyeol shook his head and stood up. “I have to do this. What happened gives me enough reason to get answers, and maybe give whoever’s responsible a piece of my mind,” He assured them. “I’m okay, aren’t I? We need to meet with Jinyi” He said. 

“Did he even get the message at all?” Juyeon suddenly asked. 

“He might not even be looking at his phone, or maybe he’s forgotten it” Hyuk said. He glanced at each of them, then at the police. “Chanyeol, if you’re sure-” 

“I’m sure” The fire controller said firmly.

“Okay then,” The telepath agreed. He closed his eyes, hoping to get his message across the police officers and the nurses and doctors telepathically. “If this doesn’t work, sprinklers” He muttered, and they clumped together as they walked towards the door and out onto the driveway. 

They let out sighs of relief once the emergency room doors closed behind them. Hyuk was especially relieved that his telepathy was getting better. “You guys should probably go ahead,” Mirae suggested. “The car we rode in isn’t big enough to fit all of us” 

“We’re going to need a bigger car next time,” Hyuk said, and he agreed, the six of them splitting up upon reaching the parking lot. Chanyeol rode with Hyuk while Mirae, Younghoon, Changmin, and Juyeon got into their car and drove off. 

“Where are we going?” Younghoon asked as he turned a corner, following Hyuk and Chanyeol’s car down the road. 

“The new luxury shopping mall. It used to be the Youth Hostel Chanyeol and I stayed in” She replied. 

That made the three boys glance at her. “Junmyeon told us all about that place,” Changmin said, fascinated. “That was where you all trained in, that was also where Junhong brought Sangyeon last year” He added. 

“What was it like staying there?” Juyeon asked. 

Mirae looked over at them. “Think Summerland, but a lot more fun. We each had our own special training room, and then there was the big communal one,” She explained. “Those training rooms were designed specifically for each of our powers. If I remember correctly, Junmyeon’s had water all around it. It was like walking inside a pool or a big aquarium” 

The three boys looked amazed. “What was yours like?” Younghoon asked. 

“Shock-proof floors and walls. I practiced my fighting skills in another room” She replied. “Not much else” 

Over at the other car, Hyuk drove in silence. He could hear Chanyeol recalling what happened over and over again in his head as he drove down that path towards the place that they once all gathered. That place, most recently, was now also the place where he came face to face with the Utopian cult leader, ultimately finding out who it was while Mirae was in a vulnerable state. 

With the silence, he began to recall his own memories of last year. The faces of the demons they had to take down, the faces of W and Sammael as they were being overpowered bit by bit. His heart began to pound, and he nearly swerved, almost hitting the car next to them. 

Chanyeol sat up, noticing the sudden swerving and the expression on Hyuk’s face. “Hey, hey,” He reached for the wheel, the car swerving even more. “We’re going to get a ticket that way, what’s happening to you?” He said, trying to steady the car. “You’re not trying to get us killed, are you?” He glanced at the telekinetic, trying his best to take control of the wheel despite being held back telepathically. 

“I-I’m not but-demons-demons” Hyuk muttered, shaking his head in an attempt to try and get rid of the feeling. “No-no” 

“Try and breathe, buddy,” Chanyeol said, making sure to make the turn that led to their destination. “If you don’t let me drive, you’re going to get us killed.” He remarked, as the swerving got more intense. 

Hyuk closed his eyes and took deep breaths. They were fast approaching the familiar tree-lined road that led to the shopping center. The fire-bender looked around. It wasn’t as bare as it used to be anymore. The mountain of dirt and rubble was now gone, and the space of land that surrounded an immaculate, white building was now turned into a small park and he could see a big obelisk that he figured was the memorial. 

Another area was the parking lot, and to his surprise, a lot of luxury cars occupied some spots, which made Hyuk’s car stand out. Chanyeol figured that this was where the rich really came out. 

Hyuk soon calmed down, and he took over to park the car in the nearest spot they could find as they entered the lot. They got out, noticing another, ordinary-looking car come in, taking the spot next to them. Mirae, Younghoon, Changmin, and Juyeon came out. “We saw you swerving earlier, is everything okay?” Mirae asked. 

Chanyeol gestured to Hyuk, who nodded. “So, Jaehwan is inside, let’s try and hear out what Jinyi has to say. 

~ 

Jaehwan froze in his seat and stared at the door. He could sense someone coming, a group of people. They haven’t even ordered yet, he thought. He was starting to feel wary, and he could sense that Jinyi was too, with the way she kept looking out the room. “Can I ask you something?” 

“Yeah?” 

“How do I know you’re being sincere? I’m not a telepath, so you’ll have to give me a reason why we should intervene in this whole gang war?” His expression was serious, and he looked her in the eye. 

But before Jinyi could answer, the door burst open, and she looked at the tall, muscular man who appeared in horror. “...Oppa, it-it’s not what you think” She said. 

His expression stiffened at the sight of Jaehwan, who gaped at her. “Oppa? You know him?” Jaehwan said. 

“My brother Baekho” She whispered. 

“I knew you’d be here, little sister” He said, but his eyes were fixed on Jaehwan. “I know all about you” 

Jaehwan stood in front of Jinyi, as if to shield her. Baekho kicked the chairs to the side as he made his way towards the mutant. “I don’t, but don’t hurt Jinyi” He said. 

“Tsk, wait until father hears about this, little traitor,” He glared at his sister. “As for you,” He turned back to Jaehwan. “I would worry about what your friends are up against if I were you” And he leaned in to punch him, only to be blocked and punched back. 

“If you knew me at all, never underestimate me or my friends” Jaehwan said stiffly. However, before he could do anything else, a flood of what looked like Baekho’s bodyguards stormed in, and he tried to fight them off. 

Hyuk, Chanyeol, Mirae, Younghoon, Changmin, and Juyeon stepped inside the restaurant. Everyone was unusually strange and quiet while they passed by. Juyeon noticed the way some of the men and women seated in the plush chairs of the place were looking at them. He looked down at what he was wearing, and then what they were wearing. “Aren’t we a little underdressed for this kind of place?” He muttered to Younghoon, who nodded slightly. 

They heard glasses breaking and shouts coming from the private room in the corner and Hyuk turned to them. “Something’s happening, Jaehwan is in there” He muttered, feeling the tracker’s presence. 

“Uh, that’s not the only thing that’s happening” Chanyeol said, the six of them freezing when everyone stood up to face them, their expressions stern and some of them were even cracking their knuckles. 

Mirae quietly and carefully reached for her staff. “This is probably what Jaehwan is doing right now, or has been doing before we arrived” she murmured, glancing at Juyeon, and then at Changmin, who suddenly figured what she meant. 

They were all staring at each other. “We’re never going to get anywhere if we’re just going to stare at each other” Chanyeol said boldly. 

“We outnumber you, young man” The middle-aged woman in a fur coat spoke. “You may as well give up now” 

“We’ll give up,” Hyuk said. “But only if she does” and he stepped aside. Mirae’s eyes were glowing as she kicked the woman towards the glass divider, and everyone in the restaurant began to attack. Juyeon transformed into metal as he absorbed all the kicks and punches given to him, Younghoon threw off a couple more, sending them flying across the room and knocking over several shelves and busting through several tables. 

Changmin dodged a few other men and women, but got caught in a headlock by a very large man. He tried to kick away the others that were coming towards him, but the man kept his hold on him. He struggled for a moment, then spotted the jewelry they were all wearing and raising a hand, all of their accessories came off and pierced through some of them. 

Some of the women were being strangled by their necklaces, while others were yelling when their dangling earrings were ripped off their earlobes. The men were collapsing on the floor when their cufflinks struck them on their heads, some blood trickling out. The man who was holding Changmin fell back when his own necklace strangled him. 

Chanyeol burned a few others with his punches, his hands being engulfed in flames as he took down those who were coming towards him. Hyuk on the other hand, sent the rest flying in different directions in the room. One larger man was crawling towards him, but the telekinetic stopped him in his place, keeping his hold on him and when he spread out his fingers, the man’s limbs were starting to get stretched, making him levitate spread-eagled. He glanced at Mirae, who delivered a very hard kick, sending him towards the wall that enclosed the room Jaehwan was in and crashing through. Hyuk and Mirae looked at each other, both of their expressions a mix of surprise and amazement. 

Jinyi stood behind Jaehwan as he kept fighting off Baekho’s bodyguards, including Baekho himself, who kept trying to come towards him. “Run away!” Jaehwan told her, taking in the hard kick that her brother gave him. He looked back at him. “Nice try” and he punched him again. 

He spotted the others fighting as well and a big feeling of relief came over him while he fought through the still-scrambling bodyguards to get to him. Jinyi still hadn’t answered his question, but from the situation with Baekho earlier, Jaehwan had a feeling she could be trusted. 

The two of them stepped out of the room, observing how the rest of them were holding their own ground inside the restaurant, Jinyi looking particularly amazed upon witnessing their powers in use. That feeling didn’t last long, as she spotted her brother getting up from the floor and limping. The kick at Jaehwan broke his own leg instead of the mutant’s side. 

Younghoon punched through some more of the scrambling men and women, but fell to his knees when one kicked him at the back of the head. He removed his gloves and dodged the next kicks and punches coming from the others and touched their faces. “I usually don’t hurt people, but for you I’ll make an exception” He twisted their necks and they fell to the ground, doing the same thing to the others that came back for him, all of them shaking until they collapsed. 

Mirae saw him and he caught her eye. They smiled at each other, both of them quick enough to dodge another hit that was coming in their directions. There was complete silence when the last person fell to the floor. All of them were looking at each other, looking satisfied. Jaehwan held Jinyi’s hand as they stepped over the bodies and towards the rest of the group. The two of them blushed at the contact, but moved forward. 

“Your trust fund may come in handy now, to repair all this” Hyuk looked at her and gestured to the broken shelves, glasses, walls, tables, and the decor. He then only realized that even the employees were among those they took down. Jinyi nodded slightly, still too shocked to see the outcome of the fighting, but a little embarrassed that she was holding Jaehwan’s hand.

“You’re blushing” Chanyeol said. “Both of you are” He looked at the two of them. “Come on, there’s a lot you have yet to know” And he led the way out of the restaurant and into the parking area. 

“Where do we assemble?” Mirae asked. 

Hyuk thought for a moment. “Junhong’s place, you remember where it is?” He said, and Chanyeol nodded. 

Jinyi looked down, looking somber all of a sudden as they split up in other cars. Jaehwan glanced at her as they got inside Hyuk’s car with Chanyeol. “What’s wrong?” He asked. 

“My brother’s still in there, injured, no doubt, that’s all,” Jinyi said quietly. “Even if he’s like this, he’s still my brother, and I can’t help but worry, but I’m worried about all of you now” she explained, once Hyuk began to drive, their car leading the way. 

“I understand” Jaehwan nodded. He glanced at Hyuk and Chanyeol this time. “What took you guys so long?” He asked. 

“Did you bother checking your phone? I sent a message” Chanyeol looked over at them. “Something happened to Mirae and I” he explained. 

Jaehwan reached into his bag for his phone and looked at the messages. He stared at the fire-bender. “The restaurant got shot down? What about your parents? How are they doing?” He asked. 

Chanyeol looked out the window. “According to the doctors, they’ll be fine. Before Hyuk and Mirae arrived, they examined their wounds. Nothing too serious” He replied. 

He breathed a sigh of relief, but Jinyi began to look even more uneasy. “That’s good. But what about Mirae?” 

“Someone sent a bomb to the store, nearly killing them too” Chanyeol said stiffly this time. He couldn’t glance at Jinyi any more. Knowing that her family was behind this was making him angry. “Who knows, you two might be next” He added. 

“Don’t say that” Jaehwan suddenly said, but he was worried just the same. “You sound like it’s inevitable” 

“Because it is, Jaehwan,” Hyuk suddenly spoke. “Didn’t Jinyi tell you earlier? We’re all on her family’s hit list. We’re targets now. They just got to Chanyeol and Mirae first, that’s why we need to be prepared” He explained. 

The tracker sat back and frowned at the thought. “All of you have a reason to hate me too, I know that,” Jinyi suddenly said. “But I want to right the wrongs of my family, no matter how bad it is” She muttered. 

“No offense, but with the track record your family seems to have, you’d either be sacrificing your life in prison, be completely broke, or you’d be found dead in a ditch somewhere if you want to right the wrongs your family has done” Chanyeol said bluntly. 

“Is that really necessary?” Jaehwan suddenly snapped. 

“But it’s true. There are people that died, people who have nothing to do with this gang war, who don’t even know anything about it” Chanyeol explained. 

“You still didn’t have to say that” Jaehwan shot. “I know her family’s done things, but it’s not like she herself shot down your restaurant or your parents” 

“Stop it” Hyuk said while he drove, trying to diffuse the argument that was building up between Chanyeol and Jaehwan. “The last thing we need and want is them turning us against each other. We’re all in danger, our loved ones are also in danger, we need to stick together if we want to set things straight” 

Jinyi could feel his words hit her harder than before. She swallowed hard. “If that’s what it takes” She murmured, and the three boys suddenly glanced at her. Jaehwan looked concerned most of all. “In the little defense I have, my family’s not the only one responsible for these accidents” 

“The Shin family, is it?” Hyuk said. “I think we ought to see what they’re up to. Would you know where they live?” He asked, and Jinyi shook her head. “I figured, but we’ll need to stay someplace for a while. It’s clearly not safe at our homes anymore” and he turned a corner, glancing at the side mirror to check if Younghoon’s car was following them. 

~

A black van pulled up in front of the mall. Younghyun stepped out, followed by Seungyoon and Hyunggu and a few other bodyguards. They stormed inside and stopped at the sight of the bodies all over the floor and spread out towards the other shops. “Stall the police if they arrive” Younghyun told their bodyguards and they marched back to the entrance. 

“It’s a shame they messed up the floor, it’s going to take forever to clean all that up” Hyunggu lightly kicked one to see if they were still alive. 

They pressed on towards the restaurant, stepping over more bodies until they found Baekho, sitting in the corner, blood gushing out of his leg. He pressed his handkerchief over his leg and looked up at them. “Ah, you’re here, and then I thought I was going to be left for dead” He gritted his teeth. 

“Hot head,” Younghyun shook his head. “You attacked too quickly, now this is what happened” he gestured to the bodies on the floor. “Did you forget what kind of people you’re dealing with? They’re not ordinary people, you know” 

“You can relax, I managed to further weaken their bond” Baekho grumbled. 

“How? By letting our little sister get away?” Seungyoon raised a brow at him while Hyunggu helped him up. “She knows too much, Baekho. She stole those files from father’s office” 

Baekho let out a loud groan in pain as he balanced himself on one foot. “If you knew that, why didn’t you go after them before I did? All of you tend to think but never act” He argued. 

“You always let your muscles do the talking. They’re not ordinary people. You’ve learned martial arts only to get beaten down in the end. They already have an advantage over us, which is why a different tactic is needed” Hyunggu told his older brother. 

“What about Daniel? Is he going to do something?” Baekho asked. 

They shook their heads. “Father doesn’t want him to get involved, not when he’s so close to debuting. Jinyi on the other hand, he might make an exception for her, after what she’s done tonight” Younghyun said. He snapped his fingers and a few of their bodyguards appeared at the entrances. “Take Baekho to the hospital, and,” He paused, glancing at Seungyoon and Hyunggu. “Release the hounds.” 

~ 

Jihoon got off the bus that night. He just arrived from his jiujitsu lessons and he was lugging around his bags, having gone straight to his lessons after his classes at the university. He was getting better, especially with Mirae’s encouragement. As the bus began to leave, he froze, gaping at the sight of a destroyed building that he knew was the store. Police tape surrounded the ruins and it made his heart pound with worry. Mirae couldn’t have been stuck in there, could she? He thought, and he ran across the street and into their apartment. 

There were several blankets that had black marks on them. “Mirae?” He looked into their rooms. Younghoon’s things were still there, so were Mirae’s. Even Changmin and Juyeon’s belongings were still intact. They didn’t run away, he thought, and looked outside the window for a sign of them. Nowhere. 

“Mirae?” He called out again, in the hopes that she would appear. 

Jihoon ran out of the building and boarded another bus. He hoped she was with the others, perhaps inside Viva Polo or paying Jaehwan and Hyuk a visit. He got down moments later, seeing a crowd of ambulances and police cars surrounding TRBL Music. He stared at the scene in horror, blinking every time the sirens flashed in front of him. There were people being brought out of the building in stretchers, and to his horror, Jiho was one of them. “Hyung” He ran up to him, following the medics into one ambulance. “What happened to you?” 

But it was when he took a closer look at the older male that he was shocked even more. Jiho had cuts and bruises on his face and his clothes were stained with blood with a big red patch on his side that had torn. “People suddenly came in, beat us up. I told Woojin and Daehwi to hide as I tried to fight them off, but I don’t know if they got to them too” He explained weakly. 

Jihoon looked out the window. “I think I know why... You probably have an idea of it too” Jiho nodded slightly and closed his eyes. The ambulance doors closed in front of them. Jihoon looked around. It was clear it wasn’t safe at home, and now it wasn’t safe at Hyuk and Jaehwan’s company either. 

“First the store, and then that restaurant, what’s been going on lately, officer?” Jihoon heard an old lady ask the police. 

“We are still trying to get to the bottom of the explosion at the record store and the gunning down of Viva Polo. We will report what we find once we find it, ma’am” The police officer replied. 

He couldn’t believe it. Jihoon turned around and went up to the officer. “Viva Polo? Gunned down?” He asked. 

“Yes. The whole store was gunned down. Bullet holes and broken glass everywhere. The people inside were injured, but no one died. Do you happen to know those people?” The officer said. 

Jihoon looked even more shocked, but he was relieved. “I-I know the owners. Park Chanyeol, he’s a waiter and he’s a very good friend. We come to eat there every week,” He explained. “Where are they?”

“Park Chanyeol? Yeah yeah, he was sent off to the hospital, one of the injured, along with his parents and some of the staff” 

And as soon as the officer said it, Jihoon ran for it. He needed to see someone, or one of them at least. It really wasn’t safe at home, and the store was gone, the restaurant was gone, the company was broken into, that left him with the only other place he could imagine was next: Jaehwan’s house. 

He got onto another bus, feeling more and more worried that something may have happened. Bom and Dongwook may have gotten hurt, Jaehwan’s own parents may have also gotten hurt. They’ve taken care of him for the few weeks that Mirae was away, he needed to see if they were okay, especially on Jaehwan’s behalf. As soon as the bus stopped at the road leading up to the house, Jihoon nearly jumped out and ran once again, skidding to a halt when he had to cross the street. 

He stopped in front of Jaehwan’s house, taking a moment to catch his breath. It seemed quiet out where he was, but the potential danger was inside, he thought. As he approached the small gate, he noticed it was unlocked, and it made him worry even more. No matter how much he was trying to prepare himself for what he was about to see inside the house, he still couldn’t imagine what might happen to them now that the ones responsible for the mess were after Hyuk, Chanyeol, Mirae, and Jaehwan. 

It was still quiet from the inside, and the sounds of the tv could be heard from where Jihoon was. He approached the door and to his surprise, it wasn’t locked either. But as he opened the door, he stepped back in horror. 

Jaehwan’s parents, along with Bom and Dongwook, were lying on the floor, looking the same way as Jiho did. The furniture surrounding the couches seemed to have been destroyed as well, and he figured it was because they struggled first before being beaten down. “Bom? Dongwook?” He called them and knelt down, hoping that they were still alive. He even called Jaehwan’s parents, who only groaned and made noises in response. 

“Watch out” Dongwook groaned, and gestured to what was behind him. 

Jihoon turned around and narrowly missed a sword swing aimed towards him. It was a very tall man in a dark suit and wearing a black mask that only covered half his face. He was holding a set of katanas, about to strike. He quickly rolled out of the way, and tried to think of a way to disarm him at the same time. “Who are you?” He asked, but the man didn’t answer and instead tried to attack him again. 

What would Mirae do, he thought as he quickly scanned the room for anything he could use. He found the poker Dongwook usually used for the fireplace and snatched it from the mantelpiece, the two of them now circling the broken down coffee table. He’s seen Mirae use her staff several times in combat once before, it was a good time to try it out for himself, even if he wasn’t skilled at it. Jihoon needed to get to the police. He left his phone in his bag, leaving him to think of another way. 

The man jumped over the table towards him, about to strike. Jihoon ducked and hit his body with the poker as hard as he could, but he fell to his knees when a blade pierced through his right shoulder. Jihoon let out a groan in pain and hit the man as hard as he could again, trying to aim for his head and maybe even disarm him. 

“I’m gonna ask again, who are you?” Jihoon said, maintaining his guard even if he felt his arm getting weak and the blood seeping through his clothes. He heard a faint slicing motion and he looked down. The man had slit his side. He rolled out of the way, trying his hardest to stay awake and to disarm the man. Jihoon threw the poker at the man, hitting his head and making him stagger. It gave him enough time to get to a heavier object; Dongwook’s bag of golf clubs. He took two out and hit the man hard enough over and over again until he fell. 

The man collapsed to the ground and Jihoon quickly reached for the katanas he was holding in case he would attack again. He grabbed the phone and sat close to Bom and Dongwook, frantically dialing the number of the police and the ambulance. Jihoon felt himself getting weaker and weaker the longer it took for him to call. Before he could see who was coming, he collapsed, hearing only the sounds of sirens and people rushing inside. 

~ 

The two cars pulled up in front of a brick wall that had a vending machine on it. “We’re here” Hyuk said, as all of them got out. 

“It’s been a while since we were here,” Mirae said rather wistfully, looking up at the sky. “We’ve only been here once, and that was last year” 

“I can’t wait to get some sleep” Chanyeol said, taking his phone out. The battery had died. “I hope there are extra cables, my phone needs charging”

Jaehwan and Jinyi sighed. “I can’t wait to take a shower” he said, stretching in his place and wrapping an arm around her. Jinyi blushed. “I hope the ramyun hasn’t expired either so we can at least get something to eat”

Younghoon, Changmin, and Juyeon looked a little confused. “Where’s the headquarters? Are we staying out here for the night?” Changmin asked, looking around. “We didn’t really bring any tents” 

“I’m feeling thirsty” Juyeon checked his pockets for some money and went up to the machine. “Does anyone want a drink too?” He said, pressing a button. To his surprise, he stepped back as the vending machine moved to the side, revealing a secret passage. “Whoa!” He gaped. 

Younghoon turned to Mirae. “You didn’t tell me Junhong’s place was like this” He said, giving her a look and wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they started going inside the very dim passage. They noticed that the lights were starting to fade out. 

“We didn’t want too many people knowing how to go inside, right away at least” Hyuk said, closing his eyes for a moment in an attempt to telepathically cloak their movements and the passage. 

Chanyeol led the way with his glowing hand and they approached the red door at the end. Jaehwan opened it and as they had hoped, they were greeted with a warm room. Everything seemed to be well-maintained, and they figured that Junhong must have come back from time to time. Younghoon, Juyeon, Changmin, and Jinyi were all awestruck as they entered the room, Chanyeol closing the door behind them the moment he heard the vending machine close up the passage again. 

Hyuk and Jaehwan began checking everything. “Junhong must have been going here too aside from staying at Summerland,” The telekinetic said, closing the door of the sleeping quarters. “Anyway, there’s probably food in the cupboards, and hopefully some clothes, but there’s warm water” He explained to them. 

“Junhong isn’t here, I doubt I’ll have any clothes” Mirae said, seating herself on the couch, Younghoon joining her right away. 

“Are you sure we’re safe here?” Jinyi suddenly asked. 

“Yeah, otherwise we’d be sleeping in our cars at the countryside” Hyuk replied. “I doubt Junhong wouldn’t leave this place without some security measures. We just need to know what those are” He opened the door to the room that had several monitors and computers. “It would be nice to know what to do around here,” He muttered. The screens suddenly went on, revealing databases and surveillance footage. “Bingo” 

They followed him inside. “How did you do that?” Jaehwan asked. 

“I just, tried to, I guess” He shrugged. “That or my telepathy’s getting a lot better” 

Chanyeol sat down on the nearby sofa and looked through the small drawers for charging cables. “Why don’t you guys shower and make yourselves comfortable?” He suggested towards Younghoon, Juyeon, and Changmin. “We don’t have much to do for now, maybe except listen to what Jinyi told Hyuk and Jaehwan earlier” 

They all looked at her. She swallowed and glanced at Jaehwan, then nodded, taking a seat at the small table near the room. Everyone else gathered around. “As I’ve told Hyuk and Jaehwan earlier today, my family’s partly responsible for the big accidents happening lately. There’s a war going on between my family and the Shin family,” she began. “The man you saved yesterday night was the right hand man of the Shin family head,” she glanced at Mirae. 

“Shin Jaewook” She said, and Jinyi nodded. 

“Basically now, my father thinks the four of you are now getting in the way” Jinyi continued. She took out a thick folder from her bag and opened it. “He got dossiers on the four of you, so now he knows where you live, where you often go to, where you work, who you work with, and has tried to do something about it,” 

“He shot down Viva Polo” Chanyeol muttered. 

Mirae figured it out as well. “He was the one who sent the bomb to the store” She said. 

Jinyi nodded again. “Yes, and who knows what could have happened to those closest to Hyuk and to Jaehwan,” she turned to him. 

“What do you mean what could have happened? What do you think they’re doing?” Chanyeol asked. 

Jinyi looked at Jaehwan again. “You don’t want to know. He can be very cruel. My brothers who believe in the same thing he does are even worse. One of them, Baekho, was the one who ambushed us at the restaurant, with a fraction of our personal army,” Her voice lowered down to a whisper as she explained. 

“It’ll be especially dangerous now, that the Shin family head probably knows about the murder of Jaewook. They’ll prepare to strike, and that means more innocent people will be in danger,” Jinyi looked down. “I personally want this to stop, so does my brother Daniel. Fortunately, father doesn’t want him getting involved, not at this point” 

“Daniel, Daniel, that name is familiar” Changmin tried to remember something. “Oh! Kang Daniel, right? He’s a contestant in that survival show, the winning trainees get to debut” He said, and Jinyi nodded, making him frown. “I’m sure people are already thinking of what family he’s from, right?” 

Jaehwan looked over at Hyuk. “Hey, aren’t Woojin and Daehwi in that show too?” He asked. Hyuk shook his head. “Oh, oh good” 

“Which is why I came to you. The four of you, no, the seven of you, already have such an advantage over us,” Jinyi’s tone became desperate. “You can single-handedly stop this way before it gets even worse. Based from past encounters, the Shin family tends to hit harder, so who knows what they might be planning to do to retaliate,”

“The assassin,” She gestured to Mirae. “The tracker,” To Jaehwan. “The pyrokinetic,” she gestured to Chanyeol. “And the telepath” She glanced at Hyuk. 

Mirae nodded. “Okay. Well, I’m no telepath, and you can very well be trying to sell us out. How do we know if we can trust you? Your bag may well have a camera installed. You might be wearing some audio recording device too. How do we know that you are to be trusted?” 

“Allow me,” Changmin said. He sat up. “Can I have a look at your bag?” He asked, and Jinyi placed it on the table. Several objects rose up from inside the bag. With a little motion, he took apart the gadgets she had, her mp3 player and her phone. The jewelry she was wearing also came apart. Juyeon took it upon himself to check the remainder of the contents of the bag for anything suspicious-looking. 

“I read her mind earlier today. I saw memories of her stealing those files,” Hyuk suddenly spoke. “I also saw her memories of those secret phone calls to Daniel, and her escape from the company to go all the way here. In the event that she is lying all along, and has been telling her brothers or her father our every move, we are more than capable of persuading her to keep her mouth shut, aren’t we?” He glanced at Jaehwan, Chanyeol, and Mirae. 

Changmin put the pieces of her gadgets back together and placed them back in her bag, Juyeon did the same with the rest of her things. Jinyi looked slightly relieved. “I understand if you still feel wary of me, but I can only prove that I’m not like my brothers and my father” She said. 

“Good.” Jaehwan said. 

The rest of them nodded as well. “In that case,” Hyuk said. “The rest of you can freshen up, shower, and change and maybe get some sleep. We’re staying here for the night.”


	4. Four

A red light bathed a plush-looking office inside a hilltop estate that night. A stocky old man sat behind his desk, staring at the telephone in the corner. Two younger men, his sons, Hoseok and Soohyun, stood on one side, while his two daughters, Jimin and Bora, were at the other. A much older man, their uncle, Donghee, sat on the couch nearest the door. “Jaewook is dead. Surveillance cameras showed the Kang family thugs killing him in his apartment yesterday morning,” The old man spoke. 

“We’re getting outnumbered?” Hoseok asked, cracking his knuckles. 

“I wouldn’t say that, son,” The old man faced him. “I would however, say that they’ve tried to take down the one who saved him the other night, and now the family is coming after...her” 

That made everyone in the room raise their eyebrows at him. “A woman saved Jaewook?” Donghee asked. 

“Why do you sound surprised?” The old man said. “She isn’t an ordinary woman. The Seoul attack two years ago proved that there are people living among us who are...more skilled than the average man” He explained. 

“Oh yes, those mutants. I saw some of them that time. Those boys were cute” Bora smiled. 

“What do we do about them?” Soohyun asked. 

“By now, the Kang family have them cornered. Or at least tried to get to their loved ones, if they have any,” The old man explained. “They would have sent their men to do it too, we’ve been going at this for years, they can be so predictable” He reached for the phone. “Donghee, don’t you know anyone from Kang Entertainment?” 

Donghee sat up. “Yes, I do. Lai Guanlin, the nephew of a friend of mine, Henry” He said. 

“Good. I want you to go to him. He’s friends with Kang Daniel, am I right?” 

“Yes” 

“Very good. Ask Guanlin if Daniel knows anything about what his family is up to. I will make a call to the producer of the show he’s on. Pull him out of there.” 

The decision made Jimin tilt her head. “Pull him out of the show? That would prevent him from debuting, father” She said. 

“Precisely. When Daniel’s pulled out of the show, we can use him as leverage to take control of the arms business they already have. I doubt Kang senior will want his son to be caught in the crossfire. Go” he ordered, and Donghee did a little salute before heading out the door. 

~ 

Hyuk kept himself busy looking at the monitors in the room. Jaehwan accompanied Jinyi inside the sleeping quarters. Juyeon and Changmin tried to pass the time by figuring out the game consoles by the television. Younghoon was showering, while Mirae and Chanyeol sat in the dining room, staring at their phones that they turned off. “Jihoon must be home by now, if something didn’t happen to him…” She muttered, tapping the corner of her phone on the table in frustration. 

Chanyeol paced back and forth in front of her. “I’m worried about my parents, I’m worried about Taeil, I’m worried about Sungyoung when she comes back and sees what’s going on,” He said quietly. He sighed and glanced at her. “How did it come to this? How did we get ourselves into this mess?” 

She looked down, feeling guilty with what he said. He looked at her, and a surge of anger suddenly swept through him. “You. You had to save that man, didn’t you? If you just minded your own business that night, we wouldn’t be stuck here, again, worrying about whether or not our loved ones are safe” 

Mirae stood up. “I didn’t ask for this to happen, Park Chanyeol. And besides, you would have done the same thing I did if you were there” She argued. 

“That doesn’t matter. If you just let that man take Shin Jaewook’s money and him, we wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire!” Chanyeol’s voice was raised. He was getting angrier. “You know what? You are so desperate to be a hero, you don’t even care who gets affected by what you do” 

Her expression stiffened. Juyeon and Changmin suddenly looked up from their places at what was going on. “If you had a body count like I do, you would want to redeem yourself too,” She replied. “And how dare you call me desperate to be a hero? Last I checked you wanted so badly to get back into doing stuff like this when we fought the Utopian cult last year,” She recalled. “Is that not wanting to be a hero too? You think what we’re doing isn’t going to get us and our loved ones in danger all the time?” 

The fire-bender looked away. Mirae sat back down, and stared at her phone again. “I think we need to relax as much as we can,” Changmin suddenly suggested. “It’s no one’s fault but that Kang family gang for making things a lot worse,” He said, glancing at Chanyeol. 

“Lashing out at each other is not going to help,” Juyeon added. “We are all on the same side” 

“The last thing we need to be right now is against each other too,” Younghoon suddenly spoke, drying his hair with a towel. “That’s just giving them what they want. They want us to be as divided as possible so they can kill us off”

“So relax, okay? I know having arguments in a team is inevitable, but not now, not when our loved ones are hoping we do something about this. I know they’d be hanging on to that hope that we’re going to stop these gangs from hurting more innocent people” 

“Get some sleep” Mirae said to Chanyeol. 

He quietly agreed. As he turned to the direction of the sleeping quarters, he looked back at her. Mirae shook her head, and he took it as a sign that she knew what he was going to say. He nodded slightly again and looked down as he stepped inside the room, closing the door behind him. 

“What about you? Are you going to get some sleep?” Juyeon asked, sitting down at the table. Changmin and Younghoon joined her, the latter folding the towel he used and settling it down on his lap. 

“If I could, then I will, but I can’t” She said. She got up and poured herself a cup of coffee. “Do any of you want coffee?” She asked. The three boys shook their heads. Mirae sat back down and stirred her cup. 

Hyuk stepped out of the room, yawning and stretching. He got some coffee and sat down with them. “Chanyeol’s taking this a lot harder than I thought” He muttered. 

“I understand, though. His parents are in the hospital, their restaurant was shot down, and he’s worried about Sungyoung if she ever arrives from that conference today” Mirae said quietly. “If they get to Sungyoung too, then it’s going to be a bigger blow to him” 

“What about you? Are you doing okay?” Hyuk asked. 

She nodded. “Pretty much, but I keep thinking about Jihoon, and what he’s probably doing at this moment, if he’s safe or something” She said. 

“I’m sure he is. He’s a tough kid. He wants to be as tough as you are, if you haven’t noticed” Hyuk said. 

“He can only be so tough, though. He doesn’t heal like I do” Mirae took a long drink of coffee. She put her cup down and sighed. “This is not how I thought things would go ever since I saved that man the other night. Then again, things have never been the same for a while” 

“Nope, they aren’t” Hyuk shook his head in agreement. 

“The attack on the city really was just the beginning, it just scratched the surface of the evil lurking in the dark. The Bermuda mission just widened its reach” Mirae said. 

“Whenever we ask about the Seoul attack, Ino always tried to change the subject” Changmin said. “Not even Junmyeon, Jongdae, Jinri, Hyejung, or even Sehun wanted to talk about it” 

“It’s because what happened then really turned everything upside down,” Mirae explained. “So many things came up leading up to it, half of us at the time weren’t so much on good terms with each other when the shooting started,” She began. “We were all frustrated, but Junhong said it was because we always saw each other morning and night ever since we joined the Center,” 

“Hyejung in particular, was dating one of our lab guys, Himchan. When the final blow in the war happened to end everything, he was a casualty, along with the other lab guys that got trapped,” She recalled, looking down the more she remembered. “But the explosion sent us in every direction, so in a way, it ended our ties with many of the people we worked with” 

“It’s understandable why Ino wouldn’t want to recall what happened on that day,” Hyuk said. “Or that whole time” 

“Why not? It sounds like there’s something more to it” Juyeon suddenly looked intrigued. 

“During that time, or at least leading up to it, his father, Professor Jang, was killed by the enemy,” Mirae explained. “Because of that, Ino had to become the new director of the Center, but that time was also when his mutant powers first began to manifest so it made things a lot harder for him”

“Ino hyung’s done so much” Changmin said quietly, and they nodded. 

“We owe him a lot, yeah” Mirae nodded. 

Hyuk suddenly looked at Juyeon. “How did you find out about your powers?” He asked. 

“M-me?” Juyeon stared at them. “I-I thought you guys already knew that” 

They shook their heads. “No we don’t. You never told us a thing about how you found out” Changmin said. 

“I’m surprised. I thought you’d all know each other’s stories by now” Mirae said, taking another drink of her coffee. 

“Only Junhong knows all of it, though. And Kevin, and Ino, and even Sangyeon too,” Younghoon said. “Some of us, like myself, Hyunjoon, and maybe even Juyeon, just prefer not to talk about how we found out we were mutants” 

Juyeon shook his head. “It’s not that I don’t want to talk about it. Actually, it’s just hard for me to put into words how it happened” He said with a shrug. 

Hyuk and Mirae stared at him. “Try us” they said. 

Changmin and Younghoon’s attention was also on him, and Juyeon sat up straight. “My powers first appeared when I was 14 years old. My younger brother and I were at this little village near our hometown. It was one of those farming villages, you know? We watched our parents use the big machines,” He began. 

“One day, we were playing in front of the house we were staying in, until all of a sudden, there was this big tractor coming towards us,” Juyeon recalled. “I got away, but my brother tripped and fell. I kept telling him to get up quickly or he’ll get run over, but he was taking so long, so I just ran in front of the tractor and-” He paused. “It happened. The tractor had this very big dent and all of a sudden the driver, who seemed to have lost control of the brakes, and my little brother, were looking at me funny. I didn’t know why at first, but then when I saw my reflection on the mirror,” 

His arm transformed into metal. “I saw it. I saw what I turned into. My brother and I agreed not to tell our parents about it at first. They wouldn’t even believe the driver when he told them about what happened to me. Until, when I turned 18, I saw the news of the Seoul attack on tv, and when I saw you guys,” He looked at Hyuk and Mirae. “I thought that maybe there is some good to what I can do, and here I am” 

They quietly nodded. “Seems like your childhood was pretty peaceful” Hyuk said. 

“It was. My parents were scared at first when I showed them, and when Ino contacted me, I knew I wanted to figure out what I could do with them. When I came to Summerland for the first time, I thought I’d be the only one there, because you were all someplace” Juyeon explained. “But I wasn’t, and sometimes I feel like I couldn’t do much with it, aside from destroy things or carry heavy things while I’m transformed” 

~ 

Meanwhile, in the sleeping quarters, Jaehwan was sitting on the floor next to the bed where Jinyi lay. She was looking up at the ceiling, still trying to process everything that occurred so far. They heard the argument that went on between Chanyeol and Mirae, and when the former entered the room, he simply ignored them with his head hung low as he collapsed on the bed on the other side of the room and fell asleep. 

Jaehwan stared at his phone. He had to turn it off on the way. He knew they were being tailed, especially as the enemy knew that Jinyi was with them. “What’s wrong?” He suddenly heard Jinyi say. 

He looked over at her and shook his head. “Nothing, just thinking” 

“About what?” Jinyi asked. 

“About… how close I am with Hyuk, Chanyeol, and Mirae” He said quietly. “The three of them go way back, the three of them went away on a mission last year, the three of them seem to always go hand in hand with each other” 

Jinyi rested herself on her elbows. “Are you feeling left out?” She asked. 

Jaehwan sighed. “A little. I’ve always known that three of them go way back, so they’re undoubtedly closer to each other than I am. But apart from that I’m beginning to feel… useless” 

She frowned slightly. “How so? You’re just like them, aren’t you?” 

“I am” 

“Then how are you useless?” She asked. 

Jaehwan shrugged. “I guess, it’s because my powers aren’t as visible as theirs, you know? Hyuk’s a telepath and a telekinetic, Chanyeol can set anything and everything on fire including himself, Mirae has that card thing she does and her eyes glow red,” He replied. “Me? I only hear and see things from a mile away, and I just have the strength thing” He curled his hand into a fist. “I’m like Superman that can’t fly or read minds or have x-ray vision” 

“That doesn’t make you any less super, though,” Jinyi said. “If anything, I admire you, all of you. You’re all born with abilities that 99% of the population in the world don’t have” 

He shook his head. “I think they don’t need me. After this thing’s over, I might just decide to stop doing this kind of thing altogether” He said. “I think even Chanyeol is considering it, or we’re all considering it”

Jinyi grabbed his hand and shook it. “Don’t. Right now, you’re the one they need the most. You’re the glue that can hold them together” She assured him. “You keep them grounded, that’s important. Without you, they’ll be even more tense than they are now” 

Jaehwan looked into her eyes. “Maybe if I had gone with them last year, I wouldn’t be feeling this way” 

“Whether you went or not, at least you’re here, with them, with me” Jinyi said. She leaned in to kiss him, and pulled away after a moment. Jaehwan turned a little pink. “I mean it, Jaehwan, they need you more than you think.” 

“I hope you’re right” 

~ 

Hyuk sat behind the desk, looking closely at the monitors later on. Like Mirae, he also had trouble sleeping as he would end up dreaming about the Bermuda mission again. After the conversation earlier, he wanted to get back into thinking of what their next move would be. It was clear that the Bermuda mission changed them, but not in the way they hoped. 

He kept reloading pages of news sites, and suddenly stopped as he stared at the latest article. 

Break-In at Record Company Kills 2, Injures 4

He saw another article on another monitor and stared at the headline.

Assault at Home Critically Injures 5 People 

Hyuk clicked through to read the articles. It confirmed his worst fears. They got to Jaehwan’s guardians and parents, they got to Jiho, and they even got to Jihoon as well. He read through the articles some more in the hopes of knowing who was responsible, but found himself looking away as the descriptions of their injuries were becoming too much to see. 

He expected this, he anticipated this, but he was still as shocked as ever. He had to tell them, but if he did, he knew it would be more tense than ever between the four of them. But if he didn’t say anything, there would still be tension once they find out. He would feel like he let them down. 

Hyuk got up and stepped out of the room. Mirae had fallen asleep against Younghoon at the dining area, his arms around her keeping her close. Changmin and Juyeon had taken their places on the couch, and he figured that Chanyeol, Jaehwan, and Jinyi were sleeping in the sleeping quarters.They had been through a lot in a span of a few hours, he thought. They needed to recharge for the night, and so he went back into the room, closing the door behind him. 

He could only hope that all of them would survive their injuries, but he was dreading about finding out the two people that died. He hoped it wasn’t Jiho. It shouldn’t be Jiho. He didn’t want it to be Jiho. Losing Jiho would be like losing the brother he never had, the brother he was closest to, his best friend, and he wouldn’t forgive himself for letting it happen. 

His telepathy was weak, incredibly weak compared to Sangyeon. He could only do so much, and he hated that he can’t do more. 

Hyuk suddenly heard a slight thump from the outside. He could suddenly hear Chanyeol’s thoughts, and he quietly stood up to peek out. The fire-bender was on his way out, tiptoe-ing past Changmin, Juyeon, and even Younghoon and Mirae, having closed the door of the sleeping quarters behind him. “So Sungyoung is back?” He suddenly asked, making the taller step back in surprise. 

Chanyeol looked over at him. “I have to make sure she’s not hurt. I realized that they may even be coming for my sister and her husband too, whoever got to us” He explained. 

“We still need to think about our next move, Chanyeol” Hyuk said. 

“You do that. I have to do this first” He said and as he opened the door, it closed shut again. Chanyeol turned around. “Let me out” 

“We have to think about what we’ll all do together” Hyuk insisted. “We can’t separate, not now” 

“I’ve slept it off, and as much as I said back then that I wanted to do stuff like this, I don’t think I want to anymore” Chanyeol said. 

His words made Hyuk’s expression fall. “You really mean that, don’t you?” He said quietly. Everyone else was beginning to wake up from their conversation. 

“Yes. This is the last straw for me. You guys can easily go on without me too. I want out. I’m sorry, but I want out” 

The door slowly opened, and Chanyeol, noticing that everyone was looking at him, scanned the room one last time before stepping out, the door closing behind him. 

~ 

Chanyeol arrived at the hospital after taking Hyuk’s car to drive. He kept thinking about the decision he just made earlier. He wanted out, to leave the life that they somewhat led for a while and be back to normal. His family was now hurt, and he hoped that his sister, his brother-in-law, and Sungyoung were alright, if they managed to even track them down. 

He looked out the window of the ward where his mother and father were. The nurse that checked up on them informed him that they were stable and that they were going to be alright, but they still needed to stay for a while to be monitored. 

He took a deep breath and sighed, not just thinking about the decision he made, but also about what was going to happen to them once they’re discharged from the hospital. Would they be able to rebuild the restaurant in time? Would they be okay even after this whole ordeal? He realized that he was only giving his parents more traumatic memories. Chanyeol was hating this, hating the consequences of what he chose to do, what he was doing. It was clear that the enemy knew just where to hit them, and took advantage of it too. 

“Hey” 

Chanyeol turned around. Mirae was standing behind him. He glanced down the hall and saw Jaehwan and Jinyi looking on a certain ward, so did Hyuk, while Juyeon, Changmin, and Younghoon were at the vending machines. “How did you know I was here?” He asked. 

Mirae stepped forward to stand beside him. “Jaehwan, and Hyuk too” She replied, glancing at him. She looked back at the dimly lit hospital ward where his parents were. “They got to Jihoon,” She suddenly said, and it made Chanyeol stare at her. “They also got to Jiho, and to Jaehwan’s parents and guardians” 

The fire bender was at a loss for words at her revelation, but he was even more surprised at how Mirae was so calm when she said it. “A-are you okay?” He managed to say, but ended up blurting it out. 

“Yeah, at least I think I am. After you left, Hyuk told us what happened and we went here right away. They’re in the other wards, didn’t you notice?” She asked, and Chanyeol shook his head slightly. “The injuries Jaehwan’s parents sustained were deep, it might take days until Jiho wakes up, and Jihoon, Bom, and Dongwook will be okay” She explained. 

“Does he have an idea who was doing all this? Aside from the masterminds?” Chanyeol asked quietly. 

Mirae shook her head. “Hyuk’s trying to at least look through Jihoon’s memories, or Dongwook’s, or Bom’s, but his telepathy seems to have weakened from what happened last year or something” 

He looked at her. “Weaken? How can it weaken?”

“I don’t know, he just said it did for some reason, it’s nowhere near as powerful as Sangyeon’s” She replied. “He’s having difficulty looking through memories. He’s just as traumatized as you, as me” 

Chanyeol looked back at the window. “I know. I guess I just forgot that what happened last year has affected both of you too...I mean, I haven’t seen you freak out in the way that I do-” 

“It’s different for everyone, Yeol,” She said. “You have panic attacks, I have nightmares. Hyuk also has a panic attack too, maybe not as bad as yours, but it’s still there” 

He quietly nodded. Younghoon suddenly appeared, holding cups of water and handing them one each. “How is everyone?” He asked. 

“We’re fine, Chanyeol’s parents are resting. Jihoon’s resting too” Mirae replied. “Was there any update about Jaehwan’s parents?” 

“Hmm? Yeah, the doctor just talked to Jaehwan a few minutes ago” Younghoon nodded. “He said they’ll be fine, especially after some reconstructive surgery. Jinyi even offered to pay for their fees” He added. 

Chanyeol and Mirae nodded, feeling a lot more relieved. “But what about Jiho?” He asked. 

“We have no idea” Younghoon shook his head. “But the doctor said he’s stable for now”

“We need to figure out what to do now, who knows what else they’re up to” Mirae said. 

Chanyeol turned around, and immediately hurried up to someone who was rushing down the halls. It was his sister. He gave her a big hug, and greeted the man behind her, her husband. “I saw what happened on the news, oh I’m so sorry for leaving you like this” she said. She gave a nod of acknowledgement to Hyuk and Jaehwan, and waved a little at Mirae to greet them as well. 

“It isn’t just mom and dad,” Chanyeol said. He gestured to the other wards. “Jihoon, Jiho, Jaehwan’s parents and guardians too” he explained, and his sister looked even more devastated. 

“Well? What did the doctors say?” She asked. 

“They’ll be fine, at least most of them are. Jiho’s in a coma” Chanyeol explained. 

“Oh my god, Jiho too?” His sister looked even more devastated, and she rushed to take a look at the other wards, stopping when he saw the door Hyuk was standing in front of. 

Hyuk stepped aside when she appeared. “It’s a good thing they didn’t get you” He said, seeing the expression on her face. He looked back at Chanyeol, Mirae, and Younghoon, and then at Jaehwan and Jinyi. Jaehwan was constantly wiping the tears from his face while at the same time trying to look strong. Even when they were going to be okay, Jaehwan was still incredibly worried, Jinyi on the other hand, seemingly unable to speak and instead watched him, and Hyuk knew that she was being wary in case any one of them would get into a rage. 

The telepath suddenly looked down, suddenly hearing voices in his head. Images began to flash through his mind. Jaehwan’s house, with his parents and guardians sprawled on the floor, and a tall, masked man with swords was trying to attack. It was Jihoon’s memory of the incident. He looked up and at the door of his ward. “Jihoon’s awake, and he’s looking for us” He muttered, and gestured for Mirae, Chanyeol, and Younghoon to come over. Jaehwan and Jinyi followed, along with Changmin and Juyeon, while Chanyeol’s sister opted to stay outside to avoid crowding around him. 

Letting Mirae take the lead, she quietly walked inside the ward, unsure if she wanted to see how Jihoon was looking and how bad the injuries were. To her surprise, he only had a small cut on his cheek, but his arms and hands were bandaged up. They knew he’d have more bandages on the rest of his body. More surprisingly, he had a small smile on his face. “Noona” He muttered. 

“How are you holding up, kid?” Hyuk asked, giving him a little wave. “From what I can see you held yourself well” He managed to add, unable to contain his surprise as to why Jihoon looked happy. 

“Yeah, I put my learning to use for the first time, I knocked out the guy who did this to me before the ambulance came” Jihoon said, grinning. 

Mirae sat down by the bed. “I know you’re proud of what you did, but I’m a little concerned, especially with what happened to you… Must be a tough opponent” 

“Glad to see that you’re doing okay,” Chanyeol offered a little smile as well. “The same could be said for the rest” 

Jihoon nodded, and Mirae reached for his hand. “The guy looked really slick, though. Like he was trained to do something like that,” He tried to recall. “I think he wears special padding on his body because I hit him there with the poker so many times and he barely even flinched, kind of like the time that guy hit Jaehwan on the head with a crowbar” He explained. 

That made them tilt their heads. Jaehwan glanced at Jinyi, who looked even more horrified. “Oh my god, they’ve done it” She muttered, looking away. 

“They’ve done it? Done what?” Changmin asked. 

Jinyi kept shaking her head. “They’re called Hounds, an advanced version of the family’s personal army. They’re like the perfect assassins” She explained. “Skilled in all forms of hand to hand combat, and have an extremely high tolerance for pain” 

“Great, so our loved ones never had a chance, is that what you’re saying?” Chanyeol sounded frustrated. 

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. He’s lucky he put up a good fight, but it’s safe to say that they’re the ones who tried to do this” Jinyi said. 

“So where do they pick these assassins up? Where do they get people to become these...things?” Juyeon asked. 

“They recruit them off of random places, like alleyways, backstreets, sometimes even in hospitals, and in morgues…” Jinyi slowly eyed them. 

They stared at her. Changmin cringed and rubbed his arms, while Jihoon’s expression was a mixture of surprise, amazement, and fear. Hyuk on the other hand, remained calm. “When you say morgues, you mean the employees working in the morgue? Or the….” Jaehwan asked but his jaw dropped when Jinyi gave him a knowing look. 

“That explains the high tolerance for pain,” Mirae said. “But it’s a possibility that the one Jihoon managed to knock out was a live one anyway…” She glanced at her brother, who nodded. 

“If you’re saying that your family is turning corpses into assassins, how do they bring them back to life in the first place?” Chanyeol looked confused this time. 

“It’s a guarded secret. Only my brothers know” Jinyi replied. 

They all looked at each other. “There aren’t many people who would know how to bring someone back to life,” Hyuk said. 

“Or at least have the necessary technology to do it…” Mirae said. “Or….” 

They eyed Chanyeol, who seemed to pick up on what they were saying. “Powers?” 

Juyeon, Changmin, and Younghoon raised a brow in confusion. “Hyunjoon….He-he wouldn’t help them, would he? He’d know the Kang family would be fishy from the very beginning, right?” Changmin said. 

“I don’t think it’s Hyunjoon either, but why do I have a feeling someone else entirely knows these things?” Juyeon said. 

That suddenly sparked an idea in Chanyeol. “I think I know a place where we can get some answers” He said. 

“Where?” Jaehwan asked. 

Chanyeol turned to Mirae. “...Do you still remember the entrance to the Esteholm?” He asked. 

That made Jihoon, Jaehwan, and Hyuk stare at the two of them, while Jinyi, Younghoon, Changmin, and Juyeon still looked confused. “The Esteholm?” Mirae repeated, and the fire-bender nodded. 

“Esteholm? Isn’t that the marketplace you told me about?” Jaehwan asked, and they nodded. “Oh my god…” He paused as the realization hit him. “Are you two saying we’re going down there?!” He sounded excited. Hyuk also looked excited. Jihoon just frowned. 

“Well, that place may be the only place we can go to right now that has any answers to what we’re looking for,” Hyuk said with a shrug. “Summerland’s too far for us, and they may not even be around” He said. 

Younghoon waved his hands. “Wait, the Esteholm. Babe, explain?” He turned to Mirae, who suddenly turned a little pink at the pet name. Hyuk and Jihoon snickered. 

“The Esteholm is the marketplace hidden within the city. There are tunnels in that place that lead to the goblin castle underground too, but that’s basically where you’ll find.. Non-human creatures selling all kinds of things” Mirae explained. “We had to go down there when we were investigating before the Seoul attack” 

Changmin and Juyeon suddenly looked excited this time. “Whoa, we’re actually going to go there?!” They seemed giddy. 

Jihoon was still frowning. “No fair, you guys get to go to the cool places” He huffed. “While I’m stuck here, in this hospital bed, no longer in pain but under surveillance for the next two days” 

Mirae held his bandaged hand. “I’ll take you there sometime. It’s not really the kind of place you’d want to stay long in, though, I’m telling you that right now” 

“The fumes in that place aren’t very pleasant,” Chanyeol recalled. “But yeah, do you still know where it is?” He asked her. 

“Vaguely, but we can figure it out.” Mirae shrugged. 

Hyuk looked at the rest of them, now with a renewed sense of hope. “So it’s settled, we’re going to the Esteholm tonight.” 

~ 

Kang Daniel stared in disbelief at what the producer told him in his office. He was now out of the show, and his chances of debuting have minimized once more. He had been working so hard for the past couple of weeks, making sure he maintained his top spot in the weekly rankings. So many people had already been eliminated before him, including some of those in his own company. 

Deep down, he figured he knew why this was going on. Just when he thought there was no way he would get involved into this war, he was now caught up in it. It was starting to affect him just as much as well. 

He bowed to the producer and shook his hand, quietly stepping out of the office. He hoped Jinyi would be able to do something while he couldn’t, but now he also thought of this as an opportunity to do something too, to help Jinyi in whatever plan she had in mind. Daniel reached in his pocket for his phone to try and call her. He was beginning to get nervous the more it was ringing, and he spotted some familiar-looking suited men entering the floor. He recognized the group as members of the Shin family. 

Daniel turned around, hoping he wouldn’t get recognized. He needed to stay calm. Running would only get him noticed. “Come on” he muttered through gritted teeth, hoping that Jinyi would answer the phone. 

“Jinyi, answer the phone” He was beginning to worry, hurrying towards the staircase. He was also beginning to sense that those suited men from the Shin family were casually trying to follow him. As soon as he was out of sight, he broke into a run down the stairs. Daniel only needed to make it out of the building, and hope that no one would be standing by. 

After a while, he made it to the ground floor, but upon opening the door that led to the back, a darkness soon came over him, and he felt his hands being tied and his mouth being gagged as he was carried into a van. 

~ 

Jinyi took her phone out and saw the missed calls. “Daniel’s been calling me up and I didn’t notice..” She said, scrolling through her call log. 

“Seems like it’s an emergency,” Jaehwan noticed what was on her screen. “At least he doesn’t have to worry about getting involved, isn’t he?” She nodded and turned her phone back off. He suddenly froze, slowly tilting his head towards the door. He could hear the sounds of swords swishing from the outside, and soft thuds followed. “Uh oh” He rushed outside and skidded to a halt at what he saw. 

All the doctors and nurses that were passing by were now lying on the ground, splatters of blood in lines covered the walls, and at the end of the hall, was Chanyeol’s sister and her husband, sitting against the wall, looking incredibly shaken, and the two of them only suffered from scratches on their faces. 

Jaehwan groaned in frustration, hurrying towards the two of them, as they slowly got up and hugged each other. “Are you two okay?” 

“Yes, yes we are, but-them-them,” Chanyeol’s sister pointed to the bodies, before howling in her husband’s shoulder. “It was horrible. They moved so quickly” 

Everyone else stared at the sight in horror. Chanyeol rushed up to them, feeling incredibly relieved that they were okay. “Before more people get hurt, something has to be done” His brother-in-law pleaded. 

“Did you see who did it?” The fire-bender asked. 

His brother-in-law shook his head. “It all happened so fast, as if there was this black ghost, slicing through those men and women. They tried to get to us, but that was when Jaehwan came out and disappeared” He explained. 

“Black, it was wearing black” Hyuk said. “Looks like we’ll have to go down there a lot sooner than we thought” 

Juyeon looked out the window. He didn’t realize how long they had been staying until he saw the change in the sky. The sun was about to set. He suddenly saw a glint of metal in the distance, over some rooftop. He squinted in the hopes of seeing the source clearly. It was a tall, slender man dressed in black and wearing a mask. He was holding a bloody katana. “Over there!! I saw one!” He pointed, making Changmin and Younghoon rush over to him, followed by Mirae, Jinyi, Jaehwan, Chanyeol, and Hyuk. 

The masked man seemed to have seen them as well, and it jumped off the rooftop onto the ground below. “We should get him” Changmin said, but Mirae held him back, shaking her head. 

“We need to figure out how it moves” She was also fixated on the spot where the masked man was, as if doing just that. “If it disappeared when Jaehwan came out, then it wants us alive” 

The boys nodded. “So, Esteholm?” Younghoon asked. 

~ 

Kang senior stood behind his desk in his office. Younghyun, Hyunggu, and Seungyoon stood in front of him, with Baekho sitting on the couch, crutches leaning against the table. “Father, the Hounds have proven to be successful” Younghyun reported. 

“Good. I trust that they’re all dead?”

“They are bound to be. Or at least critically injured. They didn’t know what was coming until it hit them” Seungyoon had a very satisfied grin on his face. “That alone should tell them something, don’t you think?” 

“What about...Jinyi?” 

“She left with them,” Baekho grumbled. “It was a mistake to tell her almost everything about the Hound program. She knows too much” 

The man shook his head. “I must admit I am saddened by the fact that her beliefs do not align with ours. My own daughter, my only daughter is against me,” He glanced down at his hands. “Unfortunately, Daniel is too” 

The four men frowned at the realization. The phone suddenly rang and there was silence in the room. Kang senior picked up the phone to answer it. “Hello?” He said, but his calm expression fell slightly when all he could hear was a familiar voice being gagged. 

“Kang Senior? Am I speaking to him right now?” 

“Yes. You are speaking to him right now.” He answered. 

“The voice you heard just a few seconds ago is familiar to you, I assume?” 

Kang senior’s expression stiffened. “Yes. You have Daniel. I assume I am speaking to Shin senior?” His question made Baekho sit up, while his three brothers listened on.

“You are correct. You had Jaewook killed, and you are now tempting me to do the same to your son” 

“He’s debuting soon” 

“Not anymore. However, I may just spare his life. That is, if you do value your son’s life” Shin Senior replied. “Hand over the arms deal you arranged with the Yoon family, and I may just let him go” 

“That would make you the sole arms dealer in the country.” Kang senior pointed out. 

“Exactly. Look, you already have control of a lot of businesses, there is a way for all of us to prosper, so I am willing to cut a deal. The arms business is mine, Daniel gets to live, and be reinstated in the show, or,” Shin senior chuckled. “Debut solo, regardless of whatever plan you may have for him” 

“I think we are far beyond simple deals and negotiations, given the nature of the messes we’ve made upon the city,” Kang senior replied. “Release my son, or we will strike” 

Shin senior hummed. “The offer still stands. You either hand over the arms deal you have with the Yoon family or your son dies. If your son dies, we can call it even.” And he hung up. 

Younghyun, Hyunggu, Seungyoon, and Baekho huffed in their places. “Looks like the Shin family has us in a bind. We can give up the arms deal” 

“But father-” Hyunggu suddenly interjected. “We’ve long been negotiating with that deal for months!” 

“But your brother is being held hostage,” Kang senior pointed out. “The Shin family sabotaged his chances of debuting by pulling him out of the show. The Hounds have proven to be effective, as you say?” He glanced at his eldest son, who nodded. “Then we can give up that deal as they are much better” 

Younghyun raised a brow. “I don’t think our Hound program is ready to be revealed to willing buyers. I’m sure the Shin family will try and get their hands on this program the moment they catch word” He advised. 

The man waved a hand dismissively. “Whether or not they know about the Hound program doesn’t matter. What does matter is that our Hounds will strike when they least expect it. Dispatch one of the cells, inform them of their new targets. We have a bigger set of ducks to catch” He instructed. 

The three boys left the room, leaving Baekho, who looked frustrated. “What about me? I think I can do something” He said. 

“No, no. You’ve done enough, as your injury proves it. I do wish you kept a calm mind. Did they not teach you that when you were taught to fight?” Kang senior asked. Baekho said nothing, and instead looked at his injured leg. “Well, what happened in that mall worked in our favor still” 

Baekho raised a brow in confusion. “How?” 

“They will now know better than to trust anyone they meet along the way, of course. They’re on their own, and soon enough, the bond they have will break. You did well in that aspect.” 

“But what about Jinyi?” 

“What about your sister? She’s a price we have to pay to get ahead in this war…” Kang senior replied. He noticed Baekho’s expression. “Now now, you have to be patient. We’ve been at war with the Shin family for a long time. It’s not over until it’s over, and I have a feeling that when the Hounds get to them, we will emerge the sole family” 

~

Everyone breathed a big sigh of relief when a familiar face appeared in the now closed off hall of the hospital. With Younghoon’s phonecall, Hyunjoon arrived, and they all greeted him, including Jinyi and Jaehwan. “I’ve never been more glad to see you before, man” Younghoon said, patting him on the shoulder. 

“The seven of you are in danger, you know that, right? We can help” Hyunjoon suggested, looking at all of them. 

“Where are the others?” Changmin asked. 

“Summerland. Astral plane. Sangyeon is...trying to figure himself out more” He replied. “But I understand why you’d all rather do this by yourselves” Hyunjoon nodded. He turned to the doors of the wards and raised his hands. He closed his eyes and began muttering an incantation. A big, white veil began to appear, covering all the doors of the wards and then disappearing into nothing. Hyunjoon opened his eyes again and turned around to them. 

“What did you do?” Jaehwan asked. 

“A shield to keep away those who plan on doing evil to the ones in the room. You’ve all been through a lot. Maybe when this is over, drop by Summerland to heal” Hyunjoon said. “This is the least I can do for all of you” 

They nodded. “I think I’ll take you up on that” Chanyeol said. “Thank you” 

A disc suddenly appeared from under Hyunjoon’s feet. “Take care of yourselves. You all need each other” He advised, and the disc rose up and he disappeared. 

Jinyi and Jaehwan stared at the spot from where Hyunjoon was. “He-he could do that too?” Jaehwan asked, amazed. 

“Yeah, you’d be surprised with what Hyunjoon could do” Mirae nodded. She looked at the rest of them. “Time to go to the Esteholm”


	5. Chapter 5

The street lights flickered into darkness as the cars arrived at the back of a meat packing company, parking in the midst of all the trucks that were parked in one spot of the block. Changmin, Chanyeol, Hyuk, Jaehwan, Jinyi, Juyeon, Mirae, and Younghoon got out of the cars and looked at the building before them. “I know it’s not a good time to be excited, but I have to admit that I am,” Jaehwan said, glancing at all of them. 

“We should get a van for all of us next time,” Mirae said. “We don’t want both cars to get totaled if we’re being chased” 

“Were you chased before?” Juyeon asked. 

“Oh yeah” Chanyeol chuckled. “Utopian cult members, used a bazooka, shot the tires, everything” He explained. “Come on” 

He led the way to the building’s driveway, climbing up the stairs to the smaller back entrance of the place. “Won’t we get caught?” Changmin asked, cautiously stepping inside once Chanyeol opened the door. “We’re trespassing, somewhat” 

“It’s closed for the day, and there’s hardly anyone around, except for those cats” Younghoon whispered, closing the door behind them quickly. They covered their noses at the smell of raw meat, passing through hanging carcasses of pigs and cows until they reached a tall, rusty shelf. “Is this it?” He asked.

Chanyeol and Mirae turned to each other. “Do you still know how to open this?” The fire-bender asked. 

“I honestly don’t. But there must be something here. I just know it opens” She said, looking at the books and files on display. 

Hyuk stepped forward and all the contents of the shelf floated out, but only one book remained. “Grimm’s Fairy Tales?” He asked them, and Chanyeol pulled on the book. The shelf slid to one side, revealing an old spiral staircase lit by lamps that were covered in thick layers of cobwebs. 

“Why do the places we go to have these kinds of things? Did they think this looks good? This doesn’t” Jaehwan shook his head as he followed them down the staircase, the shelf closing behind them, leaving them with the yellow light from the lamps. 

“This is exciting” Juyeon grinned, taking in the surroundings the further down they went. “I kind of wish I worked at the Center when you guys first came” He said. 

“You have to remember that we’re the weird ones when we arrive at the Esteholm” Chanyeol said, his steps quickening when he saw a big sliver of light coming from the landing of the staircase. 

“We’re the weird ones regardless of where we are,” Hyuk pointed out, following Chanyeol and Mirae towards the light. 

There was an iron door that was slightly open at the landing, and Younghoon noticed the strange lock it had. “Someone’s been here, I guess. Why else would this door be left open?” He commented. 

“I never knew this kind of place existed” Jinyi suddenly spoke, staying close to Jaehwan as Changmin pushed the door open for all of them to go inside, stopping when they saw the sight in front of them. 

The Esteholm, as Chanyeol and Mirae remembered it, was a bright and bustling marketplace. Colorful lanterns and street lights illuminated the underground that it seemed like they were only in another country. There were stores selling all kinds of items, and everyone wasn’t human. A big tumor on the head of a very short and stocky elf was selling glowing jellies, while a dwarf sold a different kind of what they figured was ice cream in uniquely shaped containers. There were several shops behind the stalls selling artifacts, books, potions, even suits of armor for every creature. 

“Hey,” Juyeon suddenly spotted an old lady taking a look at cages of canaries and other kinds of birds. “She seems human” He said. 

“That’s not a human. She’s one of those witches with square toes, talons for hands and is wearing a wig” Chanyeol muttered. “She eats canaries, that’s why she’s there” and Juyeon began to notice the way the old lady behaved in front of the birds. He cringed when he saw her lick her lips. 

Jaehwan and Jinyi quickly moved to the side when they saw a centaur pass by them, taking a look at what they figured was the street food in the place. Younghoon on the other hand, stayed close to Mirae, holding her hand tightly. “You’re right about not wanting to stay here very long” 

“Just stay close, but watch your step. They don’t take too kindly to us” Mirae whispered, as they carefully pressed on. “Any idea where we can find those potions or powers or… whatever we’re trying to find?” She asked them. 

Hyuk looked around. “I don’t know, but if someone’s come here through the same way, we should retrace the steps” He said. 

“If retracing’s the thing,” Jaehwan looked down on the ground and back at the small figure in the distance that was the door they entered from. He bent down and touched the ground. He heard whispers and panting as he could see where the person was going. The person hurried a long way before it arrived at a store where vials of glowing liquid in different colors were being sold. He stood back up. “How big is this Esteholm?” Jaehwan suddenly asked curiously. 

“Very big” Chanyeol replied. “How far do we have to go?”

“Not far, the one who came here went to a store with potions” Jaehwan replied, spotting the store twenty feet away from them. “Over there” 

“We don’t have much time, we need to hurry, who knows what the families are set on doing next” Juyeon said, and they walked quicker towards the store, skidding to a halt at the threshold. 

The store had an eerie feel to it. Despite being bathed in an orange light from the ceiling, it was still quite dark, as the shelves were made out of a dark material. It made the contents of the vials glow even brighter. “Hello?” Hyuk said, looking around for the owner. 

“Yes? Oh-Oh my” A hooded figure suddenly stepped out of what seemed like the back room. Its face remained obscured. “Oh my goodness, h-humans, in my shop” It said, stepping back in slight surprise. Jinyi gasped and stood behind Jaehwan, while Younghoon squeezed Mirae’s hand. 

“Yes, humans, but we’re not here to cause any trouble” Hyuk immediately said. 

The figure seemed to be staring at them. “What brings you to the Esteholm? What brings you here?” It began to sound frantic. “This is the last time I entertain humans in this shop, I tell you” It said. 

“We just want to find out something. Whoever went here wasn’t related to us, we don’t know who went here, we swear” Hyuk said. 

“A likely story, whatever you want, you may not have. It’s too powerful for the likes of your kind” The figure said right away. 

“That’s exactly what we want to find out,” Jaehwan suddenly spoke. “Please, before you turn us away, we just want to know what the human who went here bought” He explained, pausing to wonder if he made any sense. 

“Why do you want to know?” 

“We want to know so we can stop them” Chanyeol suddenly cut in. “Whatever it was they bought from you, they’re using it to do bad things” 

“You look awfully familiar” The figure then said to him. It took a few steps closer, and even then, they couldn’t see its face. “Were you here many moons ago?” 

Chanyeol and Mirae exchanged looks. “P-perhaps?” He replied. “We stopped the goblin prince-” 

The figure began to shriek, sending the group into a panic. Juyeon noticed that the vials were glowing brighter. The rest of them covered their ears, Jinyi hiding behind Jaehwan even more. It soon calmed down. “So it is true,” it wheezed. “You have brought peace to the world above” 

“It depends on what you mean by peace,” Mirae said. “It only brought on more trouble, it lured the evil that’s been lurking in the shadows out of hiding” She added. 

The figure wheezed again. “I knew it. I knew I should never have sold the resurrection vial to this human” It said. 

“The resurrection vial,” Changmin glanced at them. “That’s what they’re using” His eyes widened at the realization.Younghoon shuddered in his place. 

“Does it also give the drinker immortality?” Chanyeol asked, after having wrapped his head around the answer. 

“Of course not. It only brings a dead person back to life once. It gives them their mortality back” The figure replied. “That human seemed to be insistent on getting it. I think he said his name was Chani” 

The mention of the name made them stare at the figure. “Ch-Chanhee?” Changmin was in disbelief. “Wh-but-I-” He stuttered. 

“It’s impossible. Chanhee couldn’t have done that-Could he?” Juyeon shook his head. “He can’t have, unless-” 

“Unless he was working for the Kang family all along” Younghoon said. “Wait, Chanhee can’t have done it. He’s not a member of the family...is he?” 

They all turned to Jinyi, who had been cowering in fear behind Jaehwan from the sight of the hooded figure. “Chani’s my brother. My younger brother. My father’s been making him do a lot of snooping around. He’s the informant among them” She explained, making them breathe a sigh of relief. 

“You are the sister?” The figure asked her, and she nodded. “Your family will only bring on more destruction and death in your wake, if you continue using the vial” It warned. 

“At least we’re assured that Chanhee isn’t doing this behind Sangyeon’s back, or Ino’s” Mirae said with a nod as well. 

~ 

The sounds of swishing swords, gunshots, and thuds echoed in the hillside estate of the Shin family. The curtains and windows were now stained with slashes of blood as bodies were now littered on the floor, some dismembered, some stabbed, and some suffering fatal wounds. A small group of masked men wielding swords stood in the midst of the mess in the hallways. 

They were soon followed by Younghyun and Seungyoon, who had satisfied looks on their faces. The two brothers roamed around the mansion, glancing at the open doors of the rooms. “The Hound program is more effective than we thought” Seungyoon remarked while they pressed on towards the main parlor, where they heard sounds of whimpering. 

Upon entering the main parlor, they saw the Shin family head, along with Donghee, Bora, Jimin, Hoseok, and Soohyun, all tied up on the floor, with more dead bodies surrounding them. The masked men stood behind them, cleaning their swords with their sleeves. “Ah, thank you for leaving them alive,” Younghyun glanced at the masked men, who stood in their places. “As for the rest of you, I thought you’d all put up a fight” 

“Believe me, we tried” Jimin said through gritted teeth. 

“And failed” Seungyoon teased. 

“Not exactly,” Donghee suddenly commented, spitting out blood. “You still don’t know where Daniel is, do you?” 

“Oh we do. Hyunggu is bringing him to the car as we speak” Younghyun nodded. “So, this leaves your whole family useless” He grinned. 

“Then why keep us alive? You could have killed us on the spot” Hoseok groaned in his place. He suffered a cut on his side and was bleeding. 

“Yes we could,” Seungyoon agreed, eyeing Shin senior. “But we agreed that it’s best that you all suffer ten times the humiliation you have inflicted upon Daniel” He said. “Our father will be the one to execute you himself” He grinned. 

Younghyun snapped his fingers, and the masked men stood in attention. “Bring them to the van. If anyone moves, kill them” he ordered. “I don’t think father will mind anyway”

“If you kill us, you will become the sole family, and the businesses under our name will be yours” Shin senior spoke. 

 

“Not a bad price to pay, isn’t it?” Seungyoon smiled. 

“More blood will be on your hands” Donghee said. 

“Another price to pay to become the only family in control,” Younghyun pointed out. “Besides, you guys are one to talk. Bring them out” and one by one, the surviving members of the Shin family were being carried out of the estate and onto a large, black van. 

~

They stared at the figure. “More death and destruction will be caused above, and if there is death and destruction up there, there will be chaos down here” it said. It took another step forward. “I only ask that you stop them before it’s too late, undo what is done. You are all more powerful than you think” 

The group bid the figure goodbye, and pressed on back towards the way they came in. “So, it seems that the plan is clear. Get to the Kang family, take down their army” Hyuk said quietly as they walked, making sure to be as careful as possible. 

Jaehwan suddenly stared at the figure by the entrance. It was a young man, wearing a suit, and it seemed that he spotted them as well before fleeing. “Someone’s making a run for it. He saw us then left” he said. 

“I think it was Chani” Jinyi couldn’t help but whimper. 

“Alright, I’ll go after him. Juyeon, come with me” Mirae said, and she squeezed Younghoon’s hand before letting go and running ahead, Juyeon following behind. 

“No, I’ll come too” Younghoon said, following the two of them towards the entrance, leaving the five of them behind. 

“Don’t kill him!” Jinyi called out to them, but they were already out of earshot. She turned to Jaehwan. “Even if he’s done terrible things, he’s still my brother” she looked down. 

Hyuk shook his head. “Knowing Mirae, she won’t. But she’ll give him a hell of a beating” he said. 

“Juyeon and Younghoon are with her too, so that adds on to the beating” Changmin said, and they suddenly stared at him. “...Too dark?” 

~ 

Juyeon transformed into metal while they sprinted towards the door, Younghoon opening it for them to leave, running up the spiral staircase and back out of the shelf of the company’s back office. Mirae pressed the button on her staff, both ends extending once they went after Chani. They skidded to a halt when they reached the outside. “We lost him” Younghoon said. 

Black figures suddenly began to swirl around them, and the three of them stood back to back to each other as they fought off what seemed like a trio of masked men carrying swords. The masked men threw Mirae off, and incapacitated Juyeon, attempting to slice his metal body, only to emit sparks from the friction. “They’re too fast” She muttered, getting back on her feet. 

“Mirae!!!!-” Younghoon suddenly felt a sharp pin onto the side of his neck. 

“Younghoon!!” Mirae called out in horror, as she saw Younghoon collapse, one of the masked men carrying him towards a large black van and throwing him inside. “Younghoon!!” She ran towards him, her eyes glowing bright red. The van drove away before she could get to them and she fell to her knees. “Younghoon!!!!” She called out, panting while the glow in her eyes faded. “Younghoon!!!!” 

Juyeon got to his feet and ran up to her. “Mirae, Mirae” He helped her up. Tears were already streaming down her face. “Mirae, we’ll get him back” 

“What happened? Did they get away?” Chanyeol suddenly appeared, followed by Jaehwan, Jinyi, Changmin, and Hyuk. “Where’s Younghoon? Did he go after him?” He said as the door closed behind them. 

“Younghoon!!” Mirae dropped her staff and sobbed into her hands. “Younghoon!! They took Younghoon!!” She howled. 

Their expressions fell, and Jaehwan immediately let go of Jinyi’s hand to press his palm on the ground. He tried to figure out where they took him. This was the first time he had seen Mirae this devastated. Chanyeol and Hyuk had never seen her like this either. It was bad enough that Jihoon nearly died, but Younghoon getting captured made it worse for her. He could see the footsteps get onto a van. Jaehwan got up and ran towards the road, trying to see the route. 

Hyuk went up to Mirae and put a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll get him back, don’t worry. Don’t worry” 

Jaehwan got back up. “It’s like they vanished a kilometer away… I can’t see far ahead” He said, looking a little distraught. 

Jinyi looked down, feeling even more miserable than before. “They’ve gone too far” she muttered to herself. She took out her phone and turned it back on. There were messages from her brothers asking her where she was, as well as a threat. 

Baekho: We rescued Daniel from the Shin family. Father’s really angry about what you’ve done. I would bow and beg for forgiveness if I were you. 

She felt her heart skip a beat at the message. Jinyi realized why Daniel had been calling her and she never got around to answering. Daniel had been captured, but they got him back, but who knows what they may be doing, and what they could do to Younghoon. Jinyi had seen it before. They may torture him, or even kill him. She knew her brothers could be very sadistic.

Changmin quietly went up to Mirae, Juyeon, and Hyuk. “What do we do now?” He asked. 

“We go after that van” Mirae wiped her eyes and face with her sleeve. “We go after that van, kill those people that took Younghoon, and give that family a beating” She said coldly. Juyeon softened his hold on her, transforming back to normal. 

Hyuk closed his eyes, in the hopes of hearing Younghoon’s thoughts. None. “We need to come up with a plan. This has gone far enough” He said firmly. 

“There already is a plan,” Mirae said. “We follow that van, find out where it’s headed, get Younghoon back and kill them” She was sounding colder. “I nearly lost Jihoon, I’m not going to lose Younghoon” 

“You can’t just burst in there. If you do, they’ll kill him” Jinyi suddenly spoke. “I know where they’re taking him, or I have an idea where they’re going anyway. I’m sorry they took him, but if we want to get him back, there should be a plan. My father has now become twisted and warped with power, my brothers are the same” 

“Then I’ll do it alone. It’s better I get killed, not Younghoon” Mirae pulled away from Juyeon. 

“No” Chanyeol said. He sighed. “We’ve all been hurt one way or another, but, like what these two have been saying,” He gestured to Changmin and Juyeon. “We can’t suddenly break up and do our own thing now. Not now. Mirae,” He went up to her. “Younghoon is captured, and you going after them recklessly is what they want. They’re trying to use your anger against you” He reasoned. 

“He’s right,” Jinyi nodded. “They used Younghoon to get to you, thinking that you’ll be angry enough to come after them, in which case you’re going to give them what they want. They did that to so many people” She said. 

“They think you’re some cold-blooded killer, and that’s what they want” Changmin suddenly said. “But I know you, you’re not the assassin, the mercenary they’re trying to make you out to be, at least I think so” 

Hyuk looked a little impressed at Changmin, then turned back to his best friend. “They’re right. They’re trying to turn you into what your adoptive parents wanted you to become. Going after them to get Younghoon back right now isn’t a wise thing to do. I know you love him, and he loves you too, but he knows you’re better than that” 

Mirae could feel her eyes well with tears again. She hated that they were right at that moment, and she hated that she couldn’t do anything to save him that instant. She was beginning to feel her world crumble all around her because of what happened one night. Jaehwan went back to them. “We should go back to the base, get some rest. We’ve figured out a lot of things today” He said carefully. 

~ 

It was a quiet ride back to the base, with Chanyeol deciding to stick around after Younghoon’s capture. He fully understood how big this was, and how so many people were getting hurt and killed because of one family’s greed for power in the country. Now Younghoon’s life was on the line, and he knew that Mirae was trying her best not to fall apart if she wasn’t already doing that. 

Jaehwan stayed with Jinyi in the sleeping quarters, with the tracker making his bed on the floor next to her bed. Chanyeol also decided to sleep in the sleeping quarters while Hyuk stayed in the room with the monitors, lying down and perhaps dozing off on the bed that was in there. Changmin and Juyeon took their places on one part of the couch, leaving room for Mirae to lie down. 

“She really loves him, doesn’t she?” Jinyi whispered to Jaehwan. 

“Yeah, she does. It’s the first time I’ve seen her like this,” The tracker replied, staring at the ceiling. “Younghoon and I may have had our differences when we first met and when I found out who he was in her life, but they really had to get him to get to her, didn’t they?” 

Jinyi frowned, but hummed in response. “She’d give her life to save him” she muttered. 

It made Jaehwan frown as well. “Yeah, she would. She’d do that to everyone she cares about. In a way, I can’t help but think that dying is also something she wants” 

“How so?” 

Jaehwan shrugged. “I don’t know, it’s just that, all this time she’s felt so burdened by everything she’s done. She felt so guilty with the outcome of the Seoul attack, she did the difficult thing of killing her own adoptive parents who turned out to be the leaders of the Utopian cult, and she’s starting to remember what happened to her that turned her into this assassin, and then there’s the mission last year” he said. 

“But she had to do all those things, she had no choice” Jinyi said. 

“Yeah, but the Seoul attack killed some of their friends, so she thinks she’s to blame for that” Jaehwan replied, recalling the first time they met. 

“I understand. Younghoon reminds her to live, doesn’t he? He saved her” Jinyi figured out. 

“Mhmm. He saved her from herself” Jaehwan said. More than he could, he thought.

Outside, Juyeon sat up. He was having trouble sleeping after what they experienced earlier, figuring it was because of Younghoon’s capture. Younghoon was one of his closest friends and they liked to have deep conversations at times back at Summerland. They had all gotten closer since the Bermuda mission. If Sangyeon and the others at Summerland found out about their current situation, they would have already found him and swiftly brought the ones responsible to justice. But Sangyeon wasn’t there, nor were the others. It was just him and Changmin. 

He heard a soft clinking and turned around to see Mirae at the dining table, swirling her spoon into her hot chocolate. She was staring at her cup, not caring if some of the contents were spilling onto the table. Juyeon heard Changmin stir and get up as well. “Can’t sleep too?” He said quietly. 

“Mhmm. I keep thinking of Younghoon’s situation” Changmin said. He looked over at the kitchen and saw Mirae as well. “I hate this, I hate how things went to this point” He frowned. 

“Me too” Juyeon nodded. “Can’t we do something while we’re here? I know we need to think of a plan, but this waiting feels terrible” 

The metal-bender shrugged. “Everything I’m thinking of needs one of the guys back in Summerland, but we can’t reach them from here” he said. 

“So we’re on our own,” Juyeon frowned. “...But this should be something favorable for us. We left Summerland because we wanted to be on our own, right? We can do this” 

“I agree,” Changmin said. He got up and went over to the dining room, approaching Mirae with caution while Juyeon followed. “Are these seats taken?” He asked. She just shook her head and gestured to the vacant chairs. 

“We can’t sleep” Juyeon said, in an attempt to make conversation. She said nothing. He glanced at Changmin, who was still trying to gauge how she was feeling at that moment. “Remember last year, those bars that when you put in the microwave, turns into a big meal when you take it out?” he asked, his voice softening. 

“You guys ate mine because I was showering when you made it” She muttered. 

“Yeah, yeah we did, but the fries go really bad when cold” Juyeon said. 

Changmin leaned slightly closer. “Mirae, we’ll get him back” He assured her. She said nothing. “Hopefully he took his gloves off, because they won’t be able to touch him” he added. 

That seemed to give Juyeon an ounce of optimism. “Oh yeah, they can’t touch him, or at least his face and his hands” 

“They’ll use weapons to do that instead” Mirae answered, and the mood dropped again. “They injected something in him. Everything seemed to happen so fast earlier, we were up against those masked people,” she glanced at Juyeon. “I think those were the ones who got to Jiho, to Chanyeol’s parents, to Jaehwan’s parents and guardians, and Jihoon too” she said. 

Juyeon nodded. “Jinyi did mention before that the Kang family have an army” 

“So there’s a chance that those aren’t the same guys” Changmin pointed out. He looked around, as if checking if everyone else was sleeping. “I suggest that we try and go to the Kang Family house” he said. 

Mirae and Juyeon stared at him. “Jinyi told us not to go there because they’ll kill him” Juyeon said, raising a brow in confusion. 

“I know, but I’m thinking that we take a look at the place first, see how guarded it is, and maybe how many of those masked dudes are outside” Changmin suggested. Mirae just stared at the two of them. “Come on, it’s not like they’ll get to us, I mean, Juyeon can turn into metal, I can control metal, we can buy you some time” he urged her. 

Mirae wiped away a tear that was about to fall. “That personal army of theirs moves fast, Changmin. They’re like ninjas, actual ninjas. It’s like they’ve been trained to learn every single martial art that ever existed, their swords just make them deadlier” she looked at her drink, which had already gotten cold. 

“Younghoon is our friend,” Juyeon spoke this time. “He’s one of our best friends, we worry about him just as much as you, maybe more, but as much as we want to stay and come up with a plan, it seems like the clock is ticking for him” he sighed at the thought. 

Mirae didn’t want to hear it, but she knew it was the truth. Time was running out for them, and they needed to act fast. Getting Younghoon back was something she wanted more than anything at that moment, feeling especially assured that Jihoon was going to be fine. She couldn’t bear to lose him. 

A door suddenly opened and Hyuk stepped out, seemingly having heard the conversation they were having. “I thought about what you were saying earlier,” He said quietly, making them turn around to face him. “The clock really is ticking for Younghoon. We should come up with a plan now” 

~ 

Younghoon opened his eyes, The sudden gust of cold air hit his face and it made him shiver. He was in what looked like a very bare, very old cellar. Cobwebs covered up the bottles of wine that were on display, and as he tried to swallow, he felt something tight around his neck. It was a black collar that had some sort of gadget. The last thing he remembered was seeing Mirae and Juyeon fight off what were black shadows at the back entrance of a meat-packing company. He remembered calling out for Mirae before blacking out, and now he was inside a place he didn’t know. 

“I see you’re awake” 

He looked around and saw a figure from the small staircase. Younghoon squinted to try and see who it was. It was an old man. He didn’t know what to say. Instead he felt the collar on his neck. “Oh I wouldn’t try and take that off, if I were you” the old man said. 

 

“Wh-why not?” He asked. 

“It’s a little experiment my son has been working on, targeted specifically for people of a similar nature as you” the old man explained. Younghoon could tell that he was smiling evily. 

“So an anti-mutant collar?” He couldn’t help but say. 

“More like a power neutralizer. Try and use your powers, it’ll give you quite a shock.” 

Younghoon’s expression stiffened. “Why?” was all he could ask. 

The old man chuckled. “Because you, along with all your friends, and,” he tilted his head. “Your girlfriend, are in the way of my plan. All my planning has now eliminated my enemy, so my family is the sole monarch of the underworld” 

“To quote a friend of mine, absolute power corrupts absolutely” Younghoon said through gritted teeth, and he tried to get up. 

“I’ll raise that with another saying, ‘Fortune rewards the bold,’ and I have certainly been rewarded with a lot” the old man said. “Having foresight also helps, and I know your band of friends will be coming for you, but we’ll be ready for the attack that they will never see coming. I’d anticipate the deaths of your friends,” he paused. “ and your girlfriend, if I were you” 

“I doubt it” Younghoon muttered. 

The old man cackled and closed the door behind him, leaving Younghoon in the dim space once again. He couldn’t help but groan loudly in frustration. He was helpless at this point. He closed his eyes. “Mirae, I miss you” he buried his face in his hands. “Come quickly” he whispered to himself, taking off his gloves and pocketing them. 

~ 

Back at the base, they were all staring at Jinyi, who stood in front of them in the dining room. “The house is rather vast. There’s a labyrinth at the back, and no doubt the soldiers of my family’s personal army will be hiding there. As Mirae and Juyeon have seen, they’re carrying swords, and they move fast, so quick reflexes are a must,” She began to explain, drawing a rough sketch of her home. 

“Fortunately, there’s some leeway because they operate in cells. They switch every four hours. Inactive cells go to sleep in one part of the house,” She continued, marking the room. “Because of how things are now, there’s a chance that all the cells are dispatched, so we’ll be heavily outnumbered” She said quietly. 

“What about the front?” Hyuk asked. 

“Naturally, there are guards at the gates. Nothing really gets past them,” Jinyi explained. “The gates can send you electric volts, with the main switch being at the wine cellar” 

“Where did they keep Younghoon, then?” Mirae suddenly asked. 

Jinyi paused to think, then her eyes suddenly widened at her realization. “Cellar too, but he might be bound and gagged” 

“He might not be able to move to reach those wires” Chanyeol said, glancing at all of them. 

“Unless…” Jinyi trailed off, then she stared at the paper in horror. “Oh no... “ 

They looked confused. “What does that ‘oh no’ mean?” Jaehwan said nervously. 

Jinyi shook her head slightly at the thought. “It can’t be...no” she muttered. 

“Spit it out” Changmin said. 

“My other brother Hyunggu, he’s been working on something and it’s possible he made Younghoon his guinea pig” Jinyi tried to explain. 

“What is he working on?” Mirae asked. 

“A device that can neutralize mutant abilities. You use your powers while wearing that collar, you’ll get an electric shock” She looked down. 

Hyuk and Chanyeol stared at her, the fire-bender looking especially annoyed. “Great, if we get caught, we’ll wind up wearing those things. If we use our powers, we’ll wind up dead” He said. 

“It seems like there’s no way for us to succeed. This is like suicide” Juyeon said, looking down and frowning. 

“Not if I do it alone” Mirae suddenly said. All of them stared at her. 

“Mirae,” Hyuk said, a look of concern on his face. “This will kill you more times than you know” he said. 

She nodded. “I know, but as of now, I’m the only chance we’ve got to make it inside the house. Younghoon is in there, and we have to get him back, and make them pay for what they’ve done” she explained. “I can still do something without my powers, I’ll be fine. I’ll buy you all some time so you can sneak inside the house” 

“Then I’m coming with you” Changmin said. “I can break open the gates and grab the swords” he added, a smile suddenly appearing on his face. He was getting excited at the thought of getting in action again. 

“So am I, they can’t hurt me while I’m in my metal form” Juyeon said. 

Hyuk began to smile. “We’ll do this together. The three of you are in charge of the distraction, the rest of us will try and make it inside. We can cover you while you get rid of the guards” He said. 

Chanyeol could feel the mood getting lighter the more they figured out what to do. “Leave the arson to me” He nodded. “Jaehwan will be the one to get Younghoon out” He added. 

“I hope you guys know what you’re doing,” Jinyi said, glancing at the tracker and looking very worried. “There’s a chance my brothers will be trying to come at you too” she added. 

“They’re no problem, I’ll deal with Baekho” Jaehwan nodded. “I broke his leg before, I can do it again. You can go find Daniel and get out of there once you two are together” He said to her. He looked back at Chanyeol, Hyuk, and Mirae. “This has got to be the hardest thing we’ve ever done together” he said quietly. 

“Believe it or not, it is” Chanyeol said. “The Bermuda mission seemed simpler” he said, and the rest of them suddenly sat up to look at him. “What?”

They shook their heads, but they were still staring at him. “How do you feel?” Mirae asked quietly. 

“I feel...fine?” Chanyeol said, a little confused at the question. “Why do you ask?”

“You get panic attacks whenever we mention that” Hyuk said. 

“Mention what?” 

Jaehwan rolled his eyes. “Bermuda” he said. 

“Oh…” The fire-bender nodded. “Oh, I guess you’re right, I don’t feel like the walls are closing in anymore, I’m not affected whenever I remember that time… I guess I’m all better” he said. “At least I hope I am” 

“Me too” Mirae said. “I mean, when it comes to remembering that, but you know” she tilted her head. 

“Me too” Hyuk smiled, and they chuckled. “So, we’ve got a plan.” 

~ 

The drive to the Kang family estate was long, and to Mirae, Hyuk, and Chanyeol, it was almost as long as the drive to Summerland. They wound up using a rental van so they could all squeeze in. Hyuk made sure to protect the vehicle with a forcefield as they were approaching the large gates. “When those guards come over, Changmin you know what to do, right?” Chanyeol said, the closer they got. 

“Yeah” Changmin nodded, looking out the window. His heart was beating fast in anticipation. He was nervous yet excited for what he was going to do. 

“There are seven of those ninjas hiding behind the trees,” Jaehwan leaned forward to look in front. “They’ve got swords so you might as well kill them while you’ve disarmed them” He suggested. 

“Got it” The metal-bender said. 

As soon as Chanyeol pulled the brakes, Changmin raised his hands in his seat and began to concentrate on what he had to do. The guns that the guards were holding suddenly pulled themselves off of them, pointing towards them instead. Swords had also appeared from behind the trees, pointing towards their owners. 

“That’s so cool” Chanyeol was impressed, keeping still in case anyone from the outside would attack them. 

“There are more of those ninjas coming” Jaehwan whispered. 

The sounds of swishing metal grew louder as more swords began to appear, pointing themselves towards their wielders. Changmin gritted his teeth the harder he concentrated. He tried to picture where the targets were, and as he spread out his fingers, the swords began to swish around for a few minutes until silence fell. The gates then opened and they saw the bodies of not only the guards, but also the masked ninjas on the ground behind the trees. They were all dead. “I did it!” He said excitedly in his seat. 

“That was just the first wave, we’ll need to split up when we reach the front yard” Hyuk said. “Chanyeol and I will sneak through the side entrance, the three of you in front to distract those Hounds and buy Jaehwan and Jinyi some time to go inside” He instructed them, and they nodded. 

“Do we put our hands in and do a little cheer?” Changmin suddenly asked, feeling thrilled from what he did. “...Or do you guys not do that?”

“There’s no time, we’ll just have to cheer like this,” Chanyeol said with a shrug, parking the van by a bigger tree. The door on one side opened, and Mirae, Juyeon, and the metal-bender got out. 

“It’s a bit dark out here,” Juyeon said, looking up at the sky while he transformed into metal. He guessed that it was already midnight or past it. “Let’s hope we can see where we’re going” He added. 

Hyuk and Chanyeol got out of the van as well, followed by Jinyi and Jaehwan. “We’ll make sure to meet in the main hall of the house” The telekinetic said, and they all nodded. “Remember, find Younghoon and Daniel and get them out.” He reminded them, before they went in separate directions. 

“I could get used to this to be honest,” Jaehwan said, holding Jinyi’s hand as they went to the right side of the estate, while Hyuk and Chanyeol went towards the labyrinth. “Singer by day, crime-fighter by night” 

Jinyi squeezed his hand. “I think you could. You seem to like doing this” She said. 

Her words made Jaehwan think. She was right. It was like having two jobs, and maybe someday, he hoped, he could earn money doing what he was doing at that moment. “I guess I do” he said quietly. 

Jinyi then took the lead and pulled him towards the small building that served as the servants’ quarters and the garage that was next to the greenhouse. “There’s a secret passage I used to go into when I was a kid, I hope it hasn’t been blocked off by now” she said. 

Jaehwan looked up and tugged on her hand. “You might have to go on without me” he said, and shoved her inside the room. He closed the door behind him and found himself face to face with five of the masked soldiers. “Hello guys, ‘sup?” He said, before trying to dodge a sword swing sent his direction, only getting his arm. To his amazement, his arm had no blood, no wound in sight. It made him remember the fight at the cafe. “Too bad” he said, and broke the arms of a few while kicking the others off. 

Jinyi stumbled onto the ground. “Jaehwan!” She called out upon hearing the door slam. She could see his figure along with many others, trying to fight them off as best as he could. Jinyi looked down in frustration before pressing on to the secret passage she used. 

Meanwhile, Changmin, Juyeon, and Mirae were calmly approaching the driveway. “What made you say that this was harder than the Bermuda mission?” Changmin glanced at Mirae. 

“We’re dealing with an enemy that knows where to hit” Mirae simply replied. She could only hope Younghoon was okay, but knowing that Jaehwan and Jinyi were on their way inside gave her some hope. “Our loved ones have always been fine, until now” she added. 

“Well, this is the adventure we signed up for” Juyeon couldn’t help but smile. Changmin smiled at the thought too, his dimple showing. “Hey, I’ve got an idea, why don’t you throw me over that hedge over there” he had noticed some swords glinting by a tall bush. 

The metal-bender gave him a look, while Mirae looked confused. “You want me to what?” He asked, unsure of whether to laugh or not. 

“There’s something over that hedge. Throw me to it” Juyeon muttered, and the metal-bender tilted his head to look. 

“Got it” He waved his hand, sending Juyeon over the hedge. They heard a loud thud followed by groans and the sounds of bones breaking. Juyeon stepped out, and to their horror, he was holding some arms. 

“Juyeon! What did you do?” Mirae stared at him. 

“I...pulled out their limbs, I guess” He shrugged, cringing and throwing them to the side. They nodded pressed on, glancing on the spot where Juyeon was, and seeing a pile of bodies behind the hedge. 

The nearer they got, the more they began to sense the movements of the Hounds. Changmin took a deep breath. “I can feel them, I can feel the metal all around” He said quietly. He glanced at Mirae, who nodded, and he suddenly raised his hands and brought them down. Piles and piles of swords had appeared out of nowhere, from the hedges, from the trees, and even from the sides of the house. They even saw some guns. The masked men and some more suited guards began to appear from their places. “Come out come out wherever you are” He called out, pleased with himself. 

“Good. Keep them still, we’ll knock them down” Mirae told him, and he grinned. She stood back to back with Juyeon as they were slowly being surrounded by the crowd. “We’ll make sure to cover you” She whispered to the metal-bender, and took out the deck of cards from her pocket, shuffling them with a flourish. 

From afar, Hyuk and Chanyeol saw what went on. “Okay, Changmin’s disarmed them, they’d be surrounding them by now, we’re in the clear” The telekinetic said. 

Chanyeol gave him a look. “Seriously? We’re in the clear? We still have to make our way through this thing” He gestured to the shaped hedges several feet away. He heard a little rustling and looked up. “Can you feel anything?” he asked. 

The telekinetic looked up as well, then around. “Yeah, we’re not going to be alone. Just get ready” He said. “For our loved ones” he assured himself, and they pressed on, opening the small gate that served as the entrance of the maze. 

Chanyeol and Hyuk went down the same path. “You know, I might burn down this thing so we can go to the house faster” the taller one said. 

Hyuk raised a brow at him. “And attract attention? This early? We don’t even know if Jaehwan and Jinyi are already inside” He said, and suddenly looked up at a distance. He could hear the tracker’s thoughts. Jaehwan was fighting some masked men. Jinyi had gone ahead. “Now I do” he muttered, and suddenly turned around, his hands raised. 

Several masked men were floating above their heads, as if Hyuk caught them mid-jump. Chanyeol stepped back in surprise, but ended up falling over against the tall hedge. “I’ll try and cover you, you,” He paused, getting back onto his feet. “Just do what you’re doing” he added. 

“Surprise, surprise” 

Chanyeol turned around and saw a particularly large suited man arrogantly make his way towards them. “Intruders in the garden, I wonder what the boss is going to say about this” He cracked his knuckles. 

The fire-bender tried to think at that moment. Mirae would be fighting them off by now, and from the sounds of groans and punches from the distance, it was exactly what was happening. “He’ll probably be disappointed” Chanyeol held up a flaming fist and punched him. The man backed away, the side of his face burned. “Oh, you’re still up, I guess this is going to take longer than I thought” he said, and clapped his hands together. A line of fire immediately went up to the man, burning him alive. He squirmed and rolled around as the flames were consuming him. 

“This whole place is going to smell like a barbecue later” Hyuk muttered, spreading his fingers. The bodies of the masked men he captured were also beginning to spread. He closed his fist and their bodies twisted and turned, with a very loud sound of bones cracking following it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This may be the second to the last chapter of the fic, or the third to the last, I don't know, but here it is! I hope you all like it and I hope it makes a lot of sense, haha.

Changmin, Juyeon, and Mirae were already in the midst of fighting more suited guards and masked soldiers that were charging towards them. Mirae was quick to dodge each punch and kick the masked soldiers were trying to throw towards her, as if she was matching their movements. She knew every form there was, and what the masked soldiers were doing was no exception. Juyeon easily knocked down some more masked soldiers like bowling pins on the ground. The two of them were sandwiching Changmin as they continued on the very long driveway of the mansion. 

“Good thing this place is only heavily guarded, no booby traps in sight” Juyeon muttered as he and Mirae led the way. 

Changmin dismantled all the guns and bent all the swords, the objects scattering to the ground in heavy clinks and thuds. “I know it’s a bad time to say it, but this is really fun” He chuckled. 

There was a loud whirring coming from the front of the house and they saw machine guns slowly come out from the bushes. “Uh oh” Mirae muttered, taking out a card from her pocket as her eyes glowed. 

A loud beep was heard and Mirae threw the card as she could towards one machine gun, making it explode, but the rest of the machine guns were activated. Juyeon stood still, his clothes getting tattered by the bullets that were hitting him, bouncing off of him while Changmin stood behind him as he became a sort of shield. Mirae staggered back in her place as she dropped her staff, the bullets piercing through her skin, with one particular bullet hitting her in the head. “Mirae!!” Changmin yelled, staring in horror as she fell back. 

Some blood trickled down the corners of her mouth and Mirae collapsed on the ground, holes in her clothes that already had red spots. Changmin closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath as he suddenly stepped out and as he raised his hands, the bullets stopped mid-way, falling to the ground. They heard a slight clinking following and looked down. The bullet lodged into Mirae’s head fell out and the wound closed itself, only leaving the blood behind, with the rest of the bullets she was hit with falling out as well. Her eyes opened and she slowly sat up, grabbing her staff as she got back on her feet. 

The two boys breathed a big sigh of relief. “I thought we lost you” Juyeon asked with concern. “I mean-I know you could heal but I was worried you wouldn’t be able to this time…” 

Mirae shook her head. “I’m fine, I just hate it when this happens” she said. “Even more if my clothes are new” she added, making Juyeon and Changmin smile. 

Over at the maze, Hyuk pushed a few other guards towards the hedges, the vines and plants twisting and tying themselves around them. Chanyeol tried his hardest not to set fire to the rest of the hedges as he was slowly getting engulfed in flames. They skidded to a halt when they heard the gunshots and the sounds of ricocheting objects. They heard Changmin call Mirae’s name, and Hyuk tried to look over, before following the fire-bender towards another corner of the maze. “Jaehwan’s gotten through, I think” he said, stumbling forward when some bullets began to hit the maze. 

Chanyeol pulled him up to his feet and they ran towards another corner. “I’m not sure about what I’m going to do, but I’ll just hope it works” he let go of the telekinetic and transformed into a fire being, already floating several feet off the ground and hovering over the maze. He clapped his hands and shot out flames that immediately melted the bullets that were in mid-air, being controlled by Changmin, who suddenly gave them a thumbs up. “It worked” and he dodged past a small object that was flying towards him. “Hyuk, there are darts, be careful” he said. 

“I will” Hyuk spotted a few coming towards Chanyeol and moved it away, making it hit the walls of the mansion instead. “Let’s hope Jinyi and Jaehwan are successful” he said, continuously moving the darts and whatever objects that were going towards them. 

Chanyeol flew towards the roof where he spotted some snipers on standby. “Hello” he said, knocking them all out and burning their faces with a flaming fist. “Looks like they’ve got those backups” he said, melting each and every firearm before flying off. “Now they don’t” 

~ 

Younghoon heard the gunshots and the explosions coming from outside. “Mirae” he muttered, getting back up on his feet to look around for a window. He hoped there was a window in the midst of the very dim surroundings he was in. The door suddenly opened, and he rushed over to see who it was. A young man wearing very casual clothes was thrown down the staircase and landed on the ground with a thud. 

“This will teach you not to turn your back on your family!” He heard another young man say before the door closed. 

The young man crawled towards the wall and leaned against it. Younghoon observed him, and noticed the black eye and bruises on his face. His knuckles also looked bruised and cut. He had gotten into a fight. Younghoon didn’t go near him, and instead stayed put. He wasn’t sure if he can trust the guy, let alone know if he’s on their side or not. 

He heard another boom, and Younghoon immediately spotted a small window. He ran towards it and tried to peek. There was another explosion and a fiery being flying several feet above what looked like a bunch of hedges. It was Chanyeol. “They’re here” he felt a tinge of relief. “Mirae, come get me” he muttered, as he tried to look out for whatever else Chanyeol was doing. 

“They can’t hear you from over here” 

Younghoon turned around. “I know they can’t, but I know that they’re already here” he said, still keeping his guard up in case he’d do something. 

The other male just nodded and looked down at his knuckles. He looked at Younghoon. “Hyunggu fitted that on you, didn’t he?” he said. 

“Or one of them did” He replied. “I suppose you know what this is?” He felt the collar on his neck. 

“I do. I was against this whole thing they’re doing,” the male replied, and Younghoon realized who he was. 

“You’re Daniel” Younghoon said. 

“One and only. The Shin family kidnapped me, my own family rescued me, but Baekho beat me up” he wiped the blood on the corner of his mouth. “Said I betrayed them, which you might as well call it that” he explained quietly. “So, it looks like Jinyi succeeded in getting you guys to help. I can’t do it alone, neither can she, she did well on getting all of you,” he sounded exhausted. “But it looks like my family decided to use you as hostage or something” 

He suddenly remembered their little encounter with the hounds outside the meat-packing company on the way out of the Esteholm. Mirae calling his name was the last thing he heard before waking up here. “They did” 

“They’re trying to use you against them, if you haven’t noticed,” Daniel looked up at the door. “Your friends are being lured into a trap” 

“If there’s anything you should know, it’s that you never underestimate my friends,” Younghoon replied rather stiffly. “We’re all trying to help you here, and they’re already outside right now. For all we know, your sister’s trying to sneak in to get you out” he said. 

Daniel only nodded and sighed, trying not to move. “I sometimes don’t know why I was born into this family. All the bloodshed, all the guns, all this...dirty stuff” he said. “I never wanted any part of it, neither did Jinyi. All I wanted was to become a singer” 

Younghoon looked out the window again. “My friends will be coming to help. They’ll be here. If anything, this will be over fast” he said quietly. He looked over at Daniel again. “You and Jinyi, both of you should probably get out once she gets here” he said. “Because I honestly don’t see how else this is going to end without someone dying” 

“I know. But they’re still my family. Doesn’t make it hurt any less” 

~   
Jinyi opened the trap door under the table full of seeds and succulents at the end of the greenhouse. The passage was a little small, but she hoped she could still fit through. She looked back at the door, in the hopes of seeing Jaehwan catch up, and groaned when it felt like he wasn’t going to come anytime soon. She went down the trap door and closed the door above her head. 

It was a very dim and dark passageway, and Jinyi used her phone as a flashlight to light her way down to another door that she remembered opening into the broom closet. Her heart was pounding in anticipation that something, or someone might catch her here. As far as she knew, no one else knew about this place. She froze when she heard a little thud coming from the passage that she came from. 

Jinyi began to walk faster. She was feeling a lurch in her throat, wondering if any of those Hounds found the trapdoor. 

“Jinyi? Are you there?” 

She breathed a big sigh of relief as Jaehwan suddenly appeared, looking a little tousled and sweaty. “You almost gave me a heart attack” she said. 

Jaehwan looked at the passage in front of them, and at the closed off entrance behind them. “So this is the secret passage you’re talking about. Where does this go?” He asked. He knew they were running out of time. 

“With any luck, the broom closet, or the servants’ quarters all the way on the other side,” Jinyi replied, leading the way towards a rusty door. 

Jaehwan held her hand as they walked with a renewed sense of confidence. He hoped that wherever they ended up would lead them to where Younghoon and Daniel were. “What do you think your family’s planning now?” He asked. 

Jinyi frowned at the thought. “If I know my brothers, they’d be trying to lure all of you into a trap. Hyunggu may be trying to torture Younghoon with the collar by now. Seungyoon would be experimenting with the resurrection vial, creating more hounds somewhere or something,” she explained with a shrug, stopping as they arrived at the door. 

The tracker held the door knob and closed his eyes. He could see where this was leading them to. There was a staircase behind the door that led down to the cellar. He opened his eyes and looked at Jinyi. “We may be in luck,” he said, pulling the door open with ease, but stopping before he could take another step, and the two of them covered their noses, staring in horror at what they saw sprawled out on the staircase. 

There were rotting corpses of people, wearing silver collars. Some looked like their skin was burned off, and others were seemingly decapitated. “Oh god” was all Jinyi could say. “Hyunggu’s become a monster” 

“Let me guess,” Jaehwan didn’t want to think it, nor did he want to ask, but he felt like he needed to know. “Are these… mutants too?” He asked. 

Jinyi stared at him and very slowly nodded. “I can’t believe he’s gone this far…” she said, feeling the tears well up in her eyes. “We should go, the main circuit boxes are kept in the cellar” she said. 

Jaehwan squeezed her hand, feeling an urge to cry and be incredibly angry. It wasn’t Jinyi’s fault, but he can’t help but be mad upon finding out that the bodies they were trying not to step over as they climbed down the stairs were of their fellow mutants. He bit his lip, fighting back his tears as he followed Jinyi down the staircase. But as they climbed down, the tracker made a misstep, slipping on what felt like an arm, and the two of them slid down the stairs and falling through the door, the door nearly broken off of its hinges. 

“Jaehwan” 

“Jinyi?” 

The two of them looked up from the floor. They were in the cellar with Daniel and Younghoon. Jinyi scrambled to her feet to give her brother a hug and tend to his wounds. Jaehwan got to his feet and saw the collar on his neck. “We’re here to get you out” he said to them. 

“Good thing too” Younghoon said. “Any idea on how to get this off?” he turned to Jinyi, who exchanged knowing looks with Daniel. 

“We need to get to the lab. He usually goes in there by himself, but I guess father’s been coming with him to make adjustments” Daniel replied. 

He nodded. “Where’s Mirae?” he looked back at Jaehwan. 

“She’s outside, she’s buying us some time to get you out. Daniel, now that we’re here, get out of here with Jinyi. We can figure this out by ourselves” Jaehwan turned to her. 

Jinyi shook her head. “I’m staying to fight” 

“You can’t. Daniel needs to get to the hospital and get treated. People we know are going to be there to help, and if you can, call the police too” Jaehwan instructed. 

Jinyi frowned. “But what will happen to you?” She went up to him. 

“I’ll be fine. But both of you have to get out of here, get away from here, as far as possible,” Jaehwan replied, but what he was going to say next made his heart sink. “Even if it means out of the country, as long as you’re safe” he said. 

Tears were streaming down Jinyi’s face. “I don’t want to lose you” 

“We’ll see each other again, I’ll find you, that’s a promise” He said, cupping her face. “I’m good at finding people, I can find you too” he leaned in to give her a tender kiss. “I promise you that” he whispered upon pulling away. “Go, both of you, get out of here” he said. 

Younghoon helped Daniel up and he slung an arm around his sister’s shoulder. He pretended not to see what was on the steps, but he noticed the glint of silver on the bodies. “We’ll take care of this. We know they’re your family so we’re not going to kill them, but we’re just going to kick their asses” he said. 

Jinyi and Daniel nodded, and they slowly made their way up the stairs again. She looked back at Jaehwan, tears still streaming down her face. “I love you” she mouthed, before closing the door behind them. 

Once the door was shut, Jaehwan and Younghoon turned to each other. “Okay, now what?” 

~ 

Hyuk looked down at the ground they were walking on as they were going further into the maze. “Jaehwan’s inside. He’s found Younghoon. Jinyi got to her brother and they’re getting out of here” he said. 

“Good. One job down, time to find a way inside the house. Any ideas?” Chanyeol said, still hovering in his fire form above the maze. He looked over at what was in the middle. There was a bronze horse figurine on a pedestal. “Why do I have a feeling that there’s something more than just a figure on there” he said. 

The telekinetic ran as fast as he could through the corners, figuring out where the middle was and skidded to a halt when he saw the bronze figurine. “I know just what you mean” he felt around the statue and tilted his head when he felt the saddle. He felt it come off, and a brass button was underneath. 

The pillar shifted, revealing an opening in the ground that had a ladder. Hyuk looked up at Chanyeol and pointed to the ground. The fire-bender transformed back to normal as he landed, jumping down after the telekinetic, the pillar shifting again to close it. 

The two of them were sliding down what felt like a very long, dark chute. “Where does this lead?” Chanyeol called out as Hyuk was several feet below him already. 

“I don’t know! I’m trying to figure it out!” Hyuk replied back, closing his eyes as he tried to concentrate. “Jaehwan does this better than I do!” he called out, looking up. 

There was a small red light at the very end of the chute that grew bigger the nearer Hyuk got, and he stumbled down, hitting the ground with a thud. He rolled away in time when Chanyeol fell out as well. “What is this house? What are all these things for?” The fire-bender said, standing up. 

They were in a room full of pipes and radiators. “The boiler room” Hyuk replied, but ducked when he saw a few suited guards appeared from the entrance. 

“It’s just the pipes” one of them said. 

“How can you be sure?” said the other. 

“Because how can those freaks get in all the way here? It’s probably some rat” the first one said. 

“Still, I don’t want to get an earful from the boss” the second one said, further looking around. 

“Wait, master Baekho told us to bring these” the first one handed him a baseball bat. “In case of big rats” he chuckled. 

Hyuk and Chanyeol exchanged knowing nods and they kept themselves hidden in the corners as one of them began to inspect the rest of the radiators in the room. Hyuk closed his eyes, trying to cloak himself and Chanyeol so the thug wouldn’t notice. 

Chanyeol froze in his place as the guard approached the spot where they were, but his expression changed from shock to confusion when the guard simply turned around and left. “You’re right, the rats” he said. 

“See? What’d I tell you? Nothing to worry about. Most of them would probably be dead by now anyway” the first one patted the shoulders of the second one, and they left the room. 

Chanyeol and Hyuk breathed sighs of relief. “So that was close” the fire-bender said. 

“I couldn’t let you attack them,” Hyuk explained. “We’re in the boiler room. We’ll die if you do something” he said, and stepped out of his hiding place. 

“Point taken” The fire-bender said, following Hyuk out of the room. As they approached the door and opened it, the baseball bats were levitating in the air and the telekinetic was quick to disable the thugs as well, their belongings falling out of their pockets. Chanyeol spotted the walkie talkies and melted them, the smell of burning plastic in the air between them. “Hello, would you mind pointing us to where Kang senior and his sons are?” Chanyeol asked, holding up a flaming fist. “Try not to lie either or your faces will get burned off of your heads” he threatened. 

The two thugs’ eyes widened and they pointed to the hall on their right. “Thank you. Can you tell us the lab where the Hounds are being created?” Hyuk asked. They sputtered, and the telekinetic spread both his fingers before slowly putting his hands down, leaving them hanging in the air. One of them only groaned. “Thank you for your information” 

Chanyeol looked up, and saw the CCTV cameras on every corner of the hall. “They’ll be coming for us, soon” he said. 

“No they won’t. Juyeon, Changmin, and Mirae are already inside too” Hyuk said, and the lights suddenly went off. 

~ 

Kang Senior looked out the window from the parlor, seeing the sprawled out bodies of the hounds and most of their guards on the grounds. Younghyun, Seungyoon, Hyunggu, Chani, and Baekho, who was still in crutches but was rubbing his now-wounded knuckles, were seated on the couch. When the lights went off, he shook his head. “The Hound program needs a little upgrading, Seungyoon” he said. He tilted his head to the far corner of the room, where Gary was. “We’re losing men.” 

“It seems to be the case” Younghyun spoke. 

A smile suddenly appeared on his face. “The Shin family may be very happy to know that we’ll give them a new lease on life” he said. 

His sons immediately figured out what he meant. “You mean-” 

“Yes. Give them the strongest dose of your formula, Seungyoon.” 

“But father, it’s not ready yet” Seungyoon replied. “I’ve tested it on two of our potential hounds and the side-effects are rather…” he tried to describe what he was thinking. “Disastrous” 

Kang Senior suddenly turned around to face them. “Are you not prepared?” he said. “Don’t we have enough of the resurrection vial as well?” 

They all turned to Chani. “They spotted me before I could buy some more, but we have captured one of them, and he’s in the cellar” He explained. 

All eyes then turned to Hyunggu. “He’s got the collar on. If he tries using his powers, he will slowly be killing himself in the process” He replied, looking rather smug. 

Kang Senior nodded. “Bring the Shin family into the lab regardless. Transform them with the Hound program” he snapped his fingers. Three more thugs, including Gary, stepped forward. “Follow Seungyoon to the lab. Shoot to kill any intruders, even if it’s my own daughter” he said. Seungyoon bowed slightly and went out, the three thugs and Gary following him out of the room and closing the door. 

Baekho chuckled in his place. “What about Daniel now?” he asked. 

“You think he’s capable of escaping? The hounds will kill him too if he does” Kang Senior replied. “Now we are the sole family of Seoul’s criminal underworld” he said with a pleased look on his face. “All the other families will be asking for our protection. Leaders all over the world will want to take a look at what we’ve got. North Korea included” 

Younghyun’s expression faltered slightly. “What about this problem with the lights?” He looked up at the chandelier above them and the sconces around the room. 

The elder simply waved a hand dismissively. “That’s what generators are for, aren’t they? We’ll have light in no time” he said. 

~ 

Mirae quietly climbed up towards a balcony of what they realized was one of the bedrooms of the estate. She left her staff pinned to the pillar for Juyeon and Changmin to use to climb. Changmin easily used both pieces together, letting himself float up towards the balcony while bringing Juyeon up as well. They exchanged knowing nods before taking a look inside the room in case someone was inside. 

“What do we do now?” Juyeon whispered. 

“What else? We attack if provoked. They need to pay for taking Younghoon” Mirae muttered, her eyes glowing red as she was scanning the room. Changmin lifted the latch on the inside and the doors opened. The three of them crept inside. 

The bedroom had a very high ceiling, and had a huge four-poster bed with red velvet beddings and monogrammed pillowcases that spelt K.Y.H in gold lettering. Changmin read the initials aloud, a little confused for a moment. “K.Y.H, those are Younghoon’s initials, aren’t they?” He said. 

The mention of his name made Mirae turn around. The more they crept inside the bedroom, the more her heart pounded. She kept on thinking about him and what could have been done to him. “Younghoon’s a Kim, not a Kang” she replied, gliding a finger along the initials. 

Changmin and Juyeon nodded as they kept looking around. Juyeon spotted a framed picture of a young man on the desk. “This might be the guy who owns this room, one of the head’s sons, probably” he said. 

“Hey, I know him. He’s sold over a million copies of his album last year” Changmin said, taking a closer look at the photo. “I think his name’s Brian” he said. “He must be a good English speaker” 

“How can you tell?” Juyeon asked. 

The metal-bender shrugged. “Kevin, Jacob, Eric, they have Western names, they’re also from overseas and they’re good at English” he said. 

“Right, and Jaehyun calls himself Jerry” Juyeon chuckled, and Changmin couldn’t help but laugh as well. 

They suddenly heard footsteps coming from the door. The two boys quickly hid behind the desk, while Mirae hid under the bed. The door opened and it was the man in the photo. Younghyun noticed the open window and quickly closed it, already sensing that someone was in the room. “Come out, wherever you are, it’s your chance to kill me” he taunted, grinning. 

Changmin, Juyeon, and Mirae stayed quiet. “No one?” Younghyun said, bending down to reach under the bed. The metal-bender’s eyes widened as he could see what he was about to do. He saw the necklace he was wearing and as he lifted his hand slightly, it began to tighten itself around his neck, as if beginning to strangle him. He knew this was only giving him what he wanted, but he wanted and needed to save Mirae from getting caught. 

The young man staggered back, gagging and coughing as the necklace tightened itself some more, but loosening slightly afterwards. Mirae quietly crawled out from under the bed, her eyes still glowing bright as she pointed her staff to the back of his head, fingers poised over the button that would change the tip. “It’s too easy” she said coldly. 

Younghyun began to grin despite coughing and gagging in his place. “Wouldn’t you rather get it over with?” he sputtered, his grin fading the more he looked into her eyes. 

“I would, but not until you tell me what I need to know” she said, eyeing Juyeon and Changmin to come out. 

“Never. I’d take it to the grave” the other male replied. 

Changmin took this as a signal to tighten the necklace he was wearing. “I’d give the information if I were you, unless you want your jewelry to slice your head off” he said. “Like a hot knife through butter” 

“You think this would work? Killing me wouldn’t give you anything” Younghyun replied. 

That gave Mirae an idea. “We could ask for a trade then. You, for Younghoon, how’s that?” she asked. “If you say no, then, even if Changmin won’t kill you, I may have to do something else” she blinked slowly and the glow of her eyes turned an inky black. “Take your soul” she said. 

“I’d say yes” Juyeon suddenly spoke, staring at him before cracking his knuckles. “You can die in three ways in this room and no one will hear a thing” 

“My father already doesn’t care if me and my siblings die, what makes you think he’ll care now?” Younghyun said, and that made Changmin loosen the necklace slightly, his expression faltering and turning into that of concern. 

Mirae’s eyes were still an inky black. “You have information valuable, he’ll want you alive just as much as we want you dead” she said. “Funny how you and your family didn’t bat an eye whenever innocent people get killed” 

Younghyun only coughed and gagged, the necklace still a little tight around his neck. “You might as well tell us because it won’t be long before you die” Juyeon said. “You’re just as bad as your father, at least that’s what Jinyi says” 

He stared at the three of them, eyes turning red, and Mirae could see that he didn’t want to die despite provoking them into killing him. “Okay, okay, I will tell” he said, and Changmin loosened the necklace. Younghyun staggered to the floor, coughing and feeling the marks left on his neck. The chain had scratched his skin, drawing some blood. 

“Good. You’re running out of time too” Mirae said. 

~ 

Jinyi rushed Daniel to the hospital, where he was attended to by the doctors and nurses upon seeing who he was. “I’ll be back. I’ll call the police” she said to her brother. 

“Are you sure? Doesn’t dad deserve all this happening to him now? By the time they get there, he’d be dead” Daniel said. 

“I know,” She nodded. “But they did say they won’t kill him, or they’ll try not to. Putting them away is the only thing we can do to help them, to help everyone else that got affected. Their loved ones are also in here, recovering from whatever Younghyun, Seungyoon, and Hyunggu thought of” she looked up at the ceiling. 

Daniel looked at his sister. “Alright. By the time I’m all better, I could get us plane tickets to get out of here” he said. 

Her brothers words made her tear up again. She didn’t want to leave Jaehwan, she didn’t want to leave his side, but she had to for their safety. If the people loyal to their family found out about what they did, the two of them would be on their hit list. “Okay, but just get yourself patched up” she said, and turned around to leave, wiping her eyes. 

~ 

Back in the cellar, Younghoon and Jaehwan climbed up the staircase and to the door with newfound confidence. A red light from the backup generators bathed the entire house. “We need to find the lab to get that off of your neck” Jaehwan whispered, feeling around for the doorknob. 

“Where’s Mirae?” Younghoon asked, hurriedly slipping his gloves back on. She was all he could think about while they worked out a plan. 

“She may already be inside, just in some part of the house we’re not in, aha” Jaehwan whispered as he twisted the knob, and the sounds of clinking and dismantled metal could suddenly be heard. He opened the door, but found themselves face to face with two very large guards, both of which were holding swords. 

“Uh oh” Younghoon stared at the guards, but an idea soon popped into his head and he glanced at Jaehwan, who seemed to have picked up on it as well. 

Jaehwan pulled the taller behind him as he dodged the sword swings sent their way. Once he got rid of the swords, he turned around, and Younghoon stopped their punches in time. He realized he could still use his strength and he twisted their wrists. The tracker stepped out to stand beside him, and the two of them fought the guards off. 

To their surprise, the two guards suddenly flew ten feet away from them, crashing into the wall. A bright, hot light suddenly shone from the hall and Chanyeol and Hyuk appeared, looking just as tousled. “Oh good, we found you” The telekinetic said. 

“About time too. Where’s Mirae?” Younghoon asked. 

“She’s with Changmin and Juyeon. They’re already inside, I’m wondering what’s taking them so long to assemble here” Hyuk looked up, wishing that he could read her thoughts and get through her telepathically. He stood still, as if in a trance as he picked up Changmin’s thoughts, finding out where they were and what’s stopped them. 

Chanyeol noticed the collar on Younghoon’s neck. “So Jinyi was right, they put that on you” he said quietly. 

“Yeah, and now we need to go find the lab to get this off, but I want to know where Mirae is” Younghoon insisted. He needed to know if she was okay, even if he knew she would be. 

“They’re two floors up. They’ve got one of the sons hostage in his bedroom” Hyuk replied, blinking a few times to snap out of it. “But we found out where the lab they’re creating the Hounds are” he added. 

“Any thoughts on how we should do this, then? I don’t think we have much time, the Kang family already know we’re here and we need to strike before they can get to us now” Jaehwan asked, but before they could answer, a group of guards suddenly appeared from the staircase. “As I was saying?” 

The four of them stood at the ready. Chanyeol’s fists were already engulfed in flames. The guards suddenly took out pistols from their pockets, one of whom was armed with a tommy gun. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll put those guns down” The fire-bender said. 

“The four of you are surrounded, one of you has the collar on, so you might want to answer your own question there” One of them replied with a laugh. 

“Surrounded?” Younghoon muttered, until he felt a sharp blade poking at his side. Some Hounds were standing behind them, swords pointed at them. “Surrounded” 

“Take them to the parlor, the boss would want to see them” The other one said, and the Hounds pushed them on their way. “Oh and, inform master Hyunggu about getting these other guys some collars too” he grinned. 

Hyuk could only hope Juyeon, Mirae, and Changmin could do something about it. As he walked, he felt a presence from the staircase above them and sent a telepathic message to all of them. ‘Keep calm, Mirae, Juyeon, and Changmin are just upstairs’ he said. 

Meanwhile, in the top part of the house, five men and women in suits came out of what looked like a lab, all of them carrying swords. Seungyoon stepped out, looking satisfied with his handiwork. “You’re all equipped to do one mission and one mission only: Kill the mutants you see. Some of them are in this house right now, and they’re powerless” He instructed them. “They should prove to be good for your target practice” he added, then gestured them to go on their way. 

One of their bodyguards suddenly appeared and stopped in front of him. “Three mutants are caught, including the one in the cellar” He reported. “The boss needs three more collars” 

Seungyoon’s expression stiffened. “Good. Hyunggu and I will be ready with them in a minute” he replied. The bodyguard bowed then walked off. He went back inside the lab and closed the door, not knowing that Mirae, Changmin, Juyeon, and Younghyun were watching him from the staircase. 

“Look at that, he wasn’t lying” Mirae said through gritted teeth, looking at Younghyun. 

“Did it look like I had much of a choice?” Younghyun replied. 

“Honestly, yes. Dismemberment, decapitation, explosion, your soul taken or information, you only need to take your pick” Changmin said. 

Younghyun groaned and led the way. “This plan of yours won’t work, especially towards my siblings” he said. “They’ll call your bluff, they always tend to do that, and they have four of your friends, you think they won’t use that to their advantage?” 

Mirae stared at him. She was beginning to get confused about how she felt towards him. The anger and hate she felt was somewhat dissipating, turning into that of pity. But she needed to save Younghoon, and make them pay for trying to kill their loved ones. She knew better than to weaken now. “You think I’d care?” she said coldly, that even Juyeon and Changmin were trying to stifle the shock they felt. “After everything you’ve put us through? I’ll take my chances with your siblings” 

Younghyun stared back at her, as if trying to figure out what she was thinking. He turned around again and opened the door of the lab. The three of them followed inside calmly. People in white coats, hairnets, face masks, and goggles were lined up on tables, some of them dusting off what looked like microchips. Others were tinkering with vials and beakers filled with liquids of different colors. 

Changmin noticed a test tube filled with a glowing green liquid, but didn’t say anything and instead switched places with Juyeon. Seungyoon and Hyunggu were working on their inventions in the very center of the lab. Mirae pulled Younghyun back, the tip of her staff already changing and was digging into his lower back. The two boys grinned upon seeing the four of them. “It seems you’ve found us” Hyunggu said, and they spotted that he was holding what looked like a switch. “But are you sure you want to make a move? Your boyfriend’s going to die” 

“I’m not going to make a move,” She shook her head. “But they will” 

The switch flew out of Hyunggu’s hand and into Changmin’s. Hyunggu tried to stifle his shock, Seungyoon on the other hand, stood back. “Remove the collar from Younghoon” He said. “Or at least deactivate it” 

“What makes you think I’ll do that” Hyunggu smirked and pulled out a gun from his coat, pointing it at them. 

“If you don’t, you’ll have to watch your brother die” Mirae threatened, pointing the sharp end of her staff on Younghyun’s neck. “Or have his soul taken from him, whichever one sounds a lot better” she said. 

“Do it then, I honestly don’t care” Hyunggu said. “I’m stronger and smarter than him anyway” 

Changmin looked dumbfounded at his words, so did Juyeon. “Seriously, what kind of family is this?” He said in frustration. The gun Hyunggu was holding suddenly went into the air and pointed itself at him instead. Seungyoon began to cower at the sight of Juyeon when the gun he was also holding pointed itself at him. 

“Again, I’ll ask that you deactivate the collar my friends are wearing” Juyeon spoke this time. “While you still have a chance” 

The metal-bender shook his head. “For people who write songs about being able to make it through hard times, you all sure love doing the opposite to others” he said. “I was a fan, until I found this out” he pressed the guns on their foreheads. 

~ 

Hyuk, Chanyeol, Younghoon, and Jaehwan were shoved into the parlor. Baekho looked smug, while Kang Senior looked pleased. “About time these were caught” Baekho said, getting up from the couch. “I’ve got a bone to pick with you” He eyed Jaehwan. 

“Funny you should mention that when I broke yours. How’s that leg doing?” Jaehwan shot back, glancing at the cast. 

Baekho glared at him and limped towards him, only to get held back by Chani. Kang senior just smirked. “Quite a mouth you’ve got there” he said. 

“Thanks” Jaehwan said through gritted teeth. 

“Where are the collars?” Kang senior then asked the guards behind them. 

“Master Hyunggu’s on his way down here with them, boss” One of the guards behind them said. 

Kang senior smiled and left his desk to take a closer look at them. “Good. You know, I thought what happened to Viva Polo, to TRBL Music, to the store your other friend runs, and your home would be enough to warn you not to get in my way,” he said. “But it seems like all of you don’t seem to care about the people who get hurt because of you” 

“And you do?” Hyuk asked, but was slapped in the face by Chani. 

“Oh I do, I really do care about them, maybe a lot, maybe a little, maybe not at all,” Kang senior laughed. “I am a man who gets what he wants, and as of tonight, I have achieved it. I’ve eliminated the Shin family, and now they all work for me” he announced, beaming. 

“What did you do? Put them through the Hound program like you did with the others?” Hyuk spoke again, and this time he staggered back on the floor from Chani’s punch. His nose was trickling blood. 

“I see you’ve figured out about the Hound program. I really should have placed a hit on Jinyi” Kang senior nodded. 

Jaehwan could feel his blood boiling at his words. It was bad enough that Jinyi’s brothers thought of taking her out, her own father wanting her dead made it even worse. “You’re a monster” Chanyeol glared at him. He was also met with a punch by Baekho this time, making him stagger. 

Kang senior laughed. “Look who’s talking! People like you aren’t even supposed to exist and now I’m the monster?” he cackled. “All of you mutants, you’re the odd ones out here” 

“We may be odd, but we don’t kill people to get what we want” Younghoon said. 

“Well well, one of Hyunggu’s guinea pigs has spoken” Kang senior remarked, looking at him. “No one made a fortune this big being honest, no one rose to power with honesty, this is the real world we’re talking about” he explained. “You freaks are just living in your own little bubble” 

“The same could be said of you” Younghoon said, and dodged a punch sent his way by Baekho. “You sure you want to punch me in the face?” he taunted. “Try and touch me and you die, I dare you” 

“I’ll take my chances” Baekho cracked his knuckles. “Daniel just got lucky I didn’t finish him off” 

“This is a pathetic excuse for a family, isn’t it?” Jaehwan said, and Chani punched him, only for him to feel his bones cracking at the impact. Kang senior only laughed. “Your luck’s running out, bub” 

Chani stood aside holding his injured hand. “My son Chani’s also highly skilled in martial arts, you know?” Kang senior patted the boy’s shoulder. “He might be a little too skilled, if he can get both of you bleeding right away” He eyed the telekinetic and the fire-bender. “Where are the collars? What’s taking Hyunggu so long?” He suddenly shot looks at his guards. 

Gary suddenly came running into the room. “Boss, we have an emergency. Masters Younghyun, Seungyoon, and Hyunggu seem to have been captured” he said. “They’re being held at gunpoint now” 

Kang senior’s expression fell stiff. He eyed the Hounds behind the four of them and gestured for them to follow Gary. “What a pity, at least only one of you has to die” he eyed Younghoon. 

“Says the one who fears it” Hyuk said. 

~ 

Juyeon approached what looked like a control panel of the lab. The guns were still pointed at Hyunggu and Seungyoon’s foreheads, the switch was still in Changmin’s hand, and Mirae still had the sharp end of her staff pointed at Younghyun’s neck. “There will be people coming for you, you know” Seungyoon warned them, trying to stay calm. “It won’t be long before father has his Hounds to kill you in here” 

“Especially you” Hyunggu eyed Mirae. 

“Been there, done that” Mirae answered. 

“You don’t even have the guts to kill my brother in front of me. You would have done it by now” Hyunggu taunted her. 

“Oh yeah?” Mirae said. She looked at Younghyun and picked up the screwdriver from the table. For the first time, she was hesitant. She was no longer angry. She pitied Younghyun, who was silent this whole time. Changmin and Juyeon sensed it from her too, as did everyone else. Killing Younghyun would be giving Hyunggu what he wanted. She could feel that Younghyun, as equally bad as he was, didn’t want to die and she knew that his siblings won’t even care, more so his own father. 

Just before Hyunggu could speak, the doors of the lab burst open and the Hounds charged inside. Everyone else in the lab cowered and ran out as the soldiers targeted them. Juyeon went for the glowing vial and smashed it in time before taking in every attempt at an attack made by the soldiers, the swords only swishing against his metal skin. Mirae looked back, and shoved Younghyun to one side to help Juyeon. The guns Changmin had pointed at Seungyoon and Hyunggu flew into his hands while he pocketed the switch. “Deactivate the collar” he threatened. 

“Never” Hyunggu grinned, grabbing what looked like a small control panel that had two switches before trying to run past them, Seungyoon following close behind. Mirae took out a card and threw it at his ankles, making him fall over. 

“Run, Hyunggu, run!” Seungyoon yelled at his brother, who squeezed through the throng of masked Hounds trying to tear Juyeon and Mirae apart. He tried to get back on his feet when a gunshot was heard and he fell back down, his leg now sporting a bullet wound, with the bullet hovering above his head. 

“You should be grateful I didn’t shoot you point blank” Changmin said, emptying the guns by making the bullets go through the rest of the beakers filled with liquid. “No more Hound program for you after this” 

~ 

Jinyi arrived at the police station. “I need to see Detective Lee Byunghun and Detective Ahn Sohee, please” she told the receptionist. 

“Did someone call for us?” the two officers suddenly appeared. They raised a brow upon seeing her. “You are Kang Jinyi?” Byunghun asked. 

“Yes, I need to speak with both of you” she said. “My friends need your help” 

“Who are those friends you’re referring to?” Sohee asked. 

“Chanyeol, Hyuk, Jaehwan, they need your help” Jinyi replied, and the two detectives immediately figured it out. 

“Follow us to the interrogation room, please” Sohee gestured her to come with them, the two detectives immediately bowing and greeting their other colleagues before showing Jinyi inside the room. As soon as the three of them were inside, Byunghun locked the door. “So, what do they need our help for?” she asked as they all sat down. 

“I am willing to testify against my own family’s actions. My family, as is the Shin family, is responsible for all the accidents happening the past two months. My family in particular is behind the shooting down of Viva Polo, the near-fatal massacres at my boyfriend’s house and in TRBL Music, and the bombing of my other friend’s record store” she explained. 

Sohee and Byunghun looked taken aback. “Do you have any proof? Those are very serious accusations you’re making against your own family, Ms. Kang” Byunghun said. 

“If you want proof, please bring some backup and come with me to the house. They’ve got my friends and my boyfriend hostage too” Jinyi said. “My brother Daniel-” 

“Oh I know him! Shame he had to leave the show he was in” Byunghun said with a slight sigh. 

“Okay, okay, Ms. Kang, we’ll be there right away with a few other cars,” Sohee interrupted. She got up and pulled her colleague to his feet as well. “Come, our captain will need to hear about this too so we can get a warrant. We’ve been trying to nail your family for years, from all these cases we’ve got, seems like today’s the day it’s going to happen” 

“And then I was beginning to think the night shift was boring” Byunghun looked excited as they led Jinyi to the captain’s office.


	7. Final

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another end to another fic that I loved working on and I hope you all loved reading it too. Thank you to the ones who gave a kudos! The next fic after this may or may not be the last for the superpowers au, but it will likely not be the last. Thank you again!

Hyunggu entered the parlor where Kang senior was waiting. Chanyeol, Hyuk, Jaehwan, and Younghoon were being held back by the guards, who were pointing guns at their backs. “Ah, here he is now” Kang senior said upon his entrance. “And the collars?” 

“One of them shot Seungyoon and destroyed the Hound formula, Younghyun is still in there,” Hyunggu eyed Younghoon and the collar on his neck. Hyuk noticed what he was holding as well. “Fortunately, at least one of them has it on,” His hands were poised on a series of buttons and a switch on the panel. 

“What about the resurrection vial?” Kang senior asked this time. 

“Including the resurrection vial” Hyunggu replied, looking down.

The elder pursed his lips. Hyuk stared at him. ‘Do you plan on drinking the vial yourself?” he asked, having read his thoughts. “Seems like you are” 

“What good is all this fortune when you won’t be able to live forever” Kang senior replied, a smirk appearing on his face. 

“You might as well give up, you won’t have many Hounds left,” Jaehwan said. “And you don’t have a backup of that resurrection formula you’ve been trying to get down at the Esteholm” he added. He eyed Baekho and Chani. “Can’t punch me anymore, can you?” he taunted. 

“You’re going to regret that” Baekho said, while Chani dunked his hand in the ice bucket. “Hyunggu” 

The younger boy with the control panel pressed a button, and Younghoon could feel the surges of electricity enter his body. He let out a cry and fell to his knees. Some of the guards laughed, including Baekho and Kang Senior, who were staring and grinning menacingly. “You see? You need to watch what you say because that’s what’s going to happen to your friend over here,” Kang Senior kicked Younghoon’s side and Baekho did the same with his good leg. 

“My guinea pig’s a lot stronger than I thought. His head would’ve exploded by now” Hyunggu grinned. 

Hyuk, Chanyeol, and Jaehwan glared at them, and the psychic tried to read Chani, Baekho, and Hyunggu’s minds. Hyunggu pressed the button again and Younghoon let out another cry from the electric shock. Hyuk tried to focus on the panel he was holding. He’s used his telepathy to tinker with gadgets before, even back in their hideout, so he figured he should be able to do the same with the panel in front of him. 

Younghoon tried to get up, the collar somewhat weakening him as it had already done the first time. Baekho on the other hand, kicked him down again, and he let out a groan. Chani did the same, all three boys as well as Kang Senior were watching him squirm. It was making Hyuk, Chanyeol, and Jaehwan fight the urge to attack, but knowing that Hyunggu had the panel, they couldn’t. 

‘Come on, use your psychic powers’ Hyuk could hear Jaehwan say to him. 

‘Younghoon’s getting hurt, they’re sick’ Chanyeol thought, glancing over at him as well. ‘What’s taking Juyeon, Changmin, and Mirae so long?’ 

‘I don’t know’ Hyuk replied telepathically. 

Younghoon tried to get up again, a strange feeling had suddenly overcome him. The electric shocks he received seem to have done something and he had yet to figure out what it was. He couldn’t describe it, but before he knew it, he was already back on his feet, and he was already able to withstand any kick Baekho and Chani were throwing at him at that moment. Chanyeol, Hyuk, and Jaehwan watched him, trying to hide their surprise at this sudden discovery of his. But when Hyunggu pressed the button again, he only groaned when he felt a stinging sensation on his neck. 

It seemed like he was becoming stronger the more they tried to hurt him. It was still no match for what the collar did to him, however. He still felt the pain and the jolts of electricity coursing through him, making him kneel down. 

~ 

Juyeon and Mirae were still in the midst of taking down the group of Hounds that were attacking them. Even when Changmin had disarmed them of their swords and weapons, the soldiers quickly resorted to hand to hand combat. Younghyun watched the scene in terror, while Seungyoon tried to get back to his feet, limping his way through the crowd and out the door. 

But both brothers were suddenly pulled towards the middle again as Changmin kept watch. “I wouldn’t escape if I were you” he said to the two of them. There was silence. 

The white floor of the lab was now stained with puddles of red and the bodies of the Hounds and some guards littered the entrance. Mirae and Juyeon were standing in the middle of it all, covered in splatters of blood. The walls that were spotlessly white were also covered in spatters of blood. “This is going to leave a stain” she muttered, wiping her face with the sleeve of her cardigan. 

“It will” Juyeon agreed, the blood trickling off his metallic body and onto the floor. “Good thing I’m stainless” he added. 

The two of them looked back at Changmin, who was keeping Younghyun and Seungyoon still. “They only have the collar on Younghoon” she muttered, eyeing Seungyoon. “Your lives for Younghoon’s, do we have a deal?” 

Seungyoon laughed. “You can kill me if you want, I don’t really care. But do you really have the guts?” 

“Oh I do, but seeing as you have my boyfriend and my friends hostage, letting you live is a cleaner choice” Mirae replied. “Let’s go and bring them down, they have nothing else here” she said, and the two boys pushed Younghyun and Seungyoon, who was already limping, out of the lab. 

Juyeon shoved a few of the guards who were about to approach them away, Changmin did the same while they pressed on. “You didn’t kill me when Hyunggu dared you to,” Younghyun said quietly. “Why?” 

“You’re not worth the effort. I’m not like you” Mirae simply replied, keeping her hold on him tight as they entered the parlor. Her expression fell when she saw Baekho and Chani trying to fight Younghoon, while Jaehwan, Hyuk, and Chanyeol were being held at gunpoint behind their backs by the guards. Some of the remaining Hounds were also poised to attack the three of them as well. Hyunggu was staring at Younghoon with a very satisfied look on his face as he kept pressing the button that made him fall back to the floor. 

“Well, well, and you’ve got my sons with you,” Kang senior spoke. “I sense you want to trade?” 

“I told her, father,” Hyunggu suddenly said. “Keeping them hostage is fine, getting caught means they’re weak links” he explained. 

“And you are right, Hyunggu, Younghyun,” Kang senior eyed his eldest son. “And Seungyoon, are now considered weak links in our family” he said. “Their execution may be prepared” 

Seungyoon’s expression fell slightly, but Younghyun remained calm. “For someone who likes to uphold the concept of family, you sure have a weird way of showing your love for your children” Chanyeol said. 

Kang Senior eyed the guard behind the fire-bender, and Chanyeol’s eyes widened as a gunshot was heard. “CHANYEOL!” Jaehwan yelled. 

Chanyeol fell on his knees, and to their surprise the bullet was still in the air. It never passed through him. He felt his knees turning into jelly at this near-death experience. “Deactivate the collar on Younghoon, or this place burns to the ground” Hyuk said, and the bullet fell to the floor, the guard looking incredibly dumbfounded at what he had seen. 

“It’s not over until it’s over, and it’s far from over” Kang Senior eyed the guards behind Hyuk and Jaehwan, but all of a sudden the gunshots backfired, hitting the guards instead. They fell back on the floor, dead. 

“Again, deactivate the collar or this place burns to the ground” Jaehwan warned this time. 

Kang senior eyed the remaining hounds, and the soldiers began to attack. Changmin and Juyeon pushed Seungyoon and Younghyun to the side. The metal-bender eyed the switch Hyunggu had and Younghoon’s collar. He concentrated, seeing the collar shake, while Hyuk eyed the panel, as if trying to control the switches to deactivate. 

Jaehwan went up to Baekho and punched him, while absorbing the impacts of Chani’s kicks and strikes with his good hand. Younghoon tried to get up as well, taking off his gloves as he was about to charge towards a Hound who was about to attack Mirae from behind. 

The moment Younghoon touched the Hound, the collar broke off, and the control panel deactivated. Hyuk and Changmin hit high fives before joining in the fray, the telepath spotting the Kang family head enter a secret passage behind the bookcase near the desk. “Our work’s not over yet” they said, following the man to where he went. 

Mirae encountered Chani as well and matched his movements, eventually sweeping him off his feet and making him fall to the ground. Juyeon twisted and dismembered some of the Hounds and guards and threw them towards the wall, leaving a big crack. In the midst of the mess, Seungyoon limped towards the passage as well, but the bookcase closed before he could enter. “You’re Jinyi’s brother, so I’m not going to kill you, but I’ll definitely have to kick your ass” Jaehwan said behind him, and he threw a punch, knocking him out. 

~ 

Kang senior hurried down the secret passage that led to the garage. Hyuk and Changmin followed close behind. “You could just use your powers” the metal-bender told him. 

Hyuk looked to the distance. He sensed another presence was approaching. He suddenly heard Jinyi’s thoughts. “Jinyi’s coming back, but she’s got the police with her, that’s why” he explained, as they trailed a little behind, letting the elder man take the lead. “We’ve got enough evidence that we need to put them away” he said, taking out the broken collar from his pocket. 

 

Changmin nodded in understanding. “Along with an almost destroyed lab, we’ll have them in maximum security for life… each of them” he said. “Let’s go back then” he said, and Hyuk nodded as they turned back to the way they came in. 

As the bookcase opened again, they saw the bodies of the Hounds and the guards all scattered to the floor. Younghyun, Seungyoon, Hyunggu, Chani, and Baekho were also on the floor, all five of them were injured one way or another, and their hands were bound with the curtain ropes. “I didn’t think it would be over this fast” Jaehwan said, kicking Baekho’s other leg. 

“Well, they’ve got nowhere else to go,” Hyuk said. “They can’t do anything now either” 

“Where’s their father?” Chanyeol asked. 

“He’s outside, but he won’t be far” Hyuk said, and at that moment, they heard police sirens coming from outside the estate. “We’ve got a lot of evidence against their dealings, and there will be many more” he glanced at the five brothers. 

They all turned to them. “We could have killed you, but we didn’t. Letting you live with your crimes is punishment enough” Jaehwan said. The five brothers said nothing. 

They heard the main doors burst open and several members of the SWAT team arrived, including detectives Byunghun and Sohee, and behind them was Jinyi. Jinyi saw her brothers, and then Jaehwan and threw herself into his arms. “I wanted to come back to you” she said, cradling his face and kissing him. “You even let them live, never thought you’d be willing to do that after what they did to all of you” she added. 

Jaehwan smiled. “They’re your family, it’s fair that they only receive the same amount of pain they caused us, near-fatal, I might add” he said, hugging her tightly. 

Mirae turned to Younghoon, and noticed the slight burn marks on his neck. “Are you okay?” she asked. “I thought I’d lost you”

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “I’m not going anywhere, I’m not going to be away from you again either” he said, wiping the small spot of blood on her cheek. “I love you” 

She kissed him again. “I love you too” 

They watched the police haul away the brothers and Kang senior, leaving them behind after talking with the two detectives. “So, what do we do now?” Juyeon asked, now transforming back to normal. He noticed that even his clothes were as tattered as Mirae’s. 

They all shrugged. “Go home, maybe get some sleep, visit our loved ones in the hospital, and,” Jaehwan heard the rumbling in his stomach. “Get some food, because this made me hungry” 

“Yeah, me too” Chanyeol and Hyuk agreed, so did Younghoon and Mirae. “There’s no restaurant, but we can go to a cafe that serves breakfast at this time?” he suggested. 

“How about just a convenience store. I don’t think we’ve got wallets with us” Jaehwan suggested. 

“Good idea” and they went back to where they parked the car. 

~ 

The sun was already shining when the eight of them ate breakfast by the river, having caught glances from other people at the sight of some of them. Younghoon made Mirae wear his jacket to avoid other people seeing the holes in her clothes, Jinyi paid for their meals as they sat and ate, watching the families with their kids have breakfast picnics, people going for a run, and couples on their morning dates as well as workers who came by to eat their breakfast before heading off to work. 

“All of this has me thinking,” Jaehwan said in between sips of his ramen soup. “With everything that’s happened, I think we should try and do this for a living, you know?” he suggested. 

They stared at him. “A living? Like we’re private investigators?” Chanyeol asked. 

“Yeah! I mean, yes, we’ll still have other jobs, but this is something we do on the side, you know?” Jaehwan said. 

“But what about your music? Won’t it be difficult to juggle both paths?” Hyuk asked. He was contemplating the same thing. 

Jaehwan glanced at Jinyi, then back at them. “I’ve been mulling it over since last year, and I don’t know, I guess I’m just happier working with you guys, even if it means nearly getting killed all the time” he admitted. 

The rest of them chuckled. Changmin suddenly sat up. “Before we left Summerland, Ino hyung was already thinking of setting up a kind of base here in the city, since Summerland’s a bit far off too” he said, and Jaehwan gestured to him as if backing up his point. Juyeon and Younghoon nodded in agreement as well. 

“A base here in the city? What else could he do here?” Chanyeol asked curiously, partly trying to make sense out of what the younger boy said. 

“Well,” Juyeon suddenly remembered something, and he glanced at Younghoon and Changmin again. “He wanted to do something for you guys. He knew the four of you would be trying to protect this city so he thought maybe it would be nice to give you a proper headquarters. The safehouse we were in last night was also a little far anyway” he explained. 

Chanyeol, Hyuk, Jaehwan, and Mirae looked at each other, as if searching for an answer. “Well, what do the three of you think?” Mirae asked. 

“If that’s the case, then sign me up” Jaehwan said enthusiastically, nearly spilling his bottled water. 

“Me too,” Jinyi suddenly said. “It’s time I took advantage of my family’s criminal connections to get something good done. Without them knowing, of course” she added.

“What about you? I know your music means a lot to you” Mirae turned to her best friend. “Whatever you decide, I’ll be on board with it” she added. 

Chanyeol tried to think of the circumstances as well. All his life he only had the restaurant to work in. Before and after he did his military service, it was always waiting for him. This was telling him to do something different. “I’m in” he nodded. 

All eyes were back on the psychic. “Me too” he then said, and Mirae nodded. 

“The three of us were already in” Younghoon said with a grin, turning to Mirae, and they smiled at each other. 

“Then it’s settled, we’ll be in business” Hyuk announced, and they smiled to themselves as they went back to eating their meal, pleased with this new venture. 

~ 

The group went to the hospital, and split up as they visited their loved ones in their respective wards. Jaehwan’s parents’ surgeries were successful, despite their area becoming an active crime scene due to the attack the other day. Along with Jinyi, he stayed by their sides, getting some rest until they would wake up, even introducing her to them. Chanyeol stayed by his parents’ side, while his sister and her husband also visited, having watched both of them throughout the night. Mirae, Younghoon, Juyeon, and Changmin stayed in Jihoon’s room, the latter already well enough to be discharged. 

“So what happened? Tell us!” Bom asked the tracker when he came by to visit. Dongwook was also awake and on the bed next to hers. “Did you all save the world again?” 

Jaehwan smiled sheepishly. “He did, he really did” Jinyi suddenly spoke. “It was a team effort, but he did a lot” she added. 

Bom and Dongwook gave each other knowing looks then grinned at their charge. “I’m sure he did. We’re proud of you” Dongwook smiled. 

Two nurses suddenly entered with trays of their food. “How are we all feeling today?” They asked. 

“Better” Bom said. 

“A whole lot better” Dongwook chimed in. 

The doctor suddenly came in. “Well, both of you really do feel a lot better despite the injuries and that’s a good thing. The results seem to be in your favor as well, so I recommend two weeks of bedrest, hmm? Just so the scars can heal, no heavy lifting, no strenuous exercise or else the stitches might open up” he instructed them. 

“Got it” Dongwook gave a thumbs up. 

“Well then, here’s the list of medicines you will need to take in order to make the recovery process a little more bearable. You can go home today” The doctor smiled as he handed Jaehwan the prescription before leaving the room. 

“I’ll be right back, I just need to arrange a few things” Jinyi told him, and bowed to Bom and Dongwook slightly before leaving the room as well. 

At Jiho’s ward, Hyuk sat up when his friend woke up. “I heard Daehwi and Woojin are okay” Jiho said. 

“Yeah, I called the company and they said they’re back to practicing, although Daehwi’s complained about the security surrounding the place” Hyuk replied with a laugh. 

Jiho groaned and looked at the stitches on his arms. “This is not going to look good on me” he said. 

“Fortunately and unfortunately, you have two more weeks of bedrest” Hyuk said, holding up the prescription. 

“Jaehwan’s album is going to be delayed at this point” Jiho frowned. “Daehwi and Woojin’s debut’s going to be delayed too” 

“Relax, I’ll take care of it” The telekinetic assured him. “You just go home when you get out today.” 

Jiho nodded slowly. “I will. Taewoon’s going to be so surprised when he sees me. I haven’t seen him in a while because he’s always in Japan” he said. 

“Then it’ll be time for you to reconnect with your brother, while you’re recovering” Hyuk teased. “Which reminds me, I think I’ll take a step back from the singing and produce instead” he said, his tone now serious. 

Jiho raised a brow. “You’ll become a producer instead?” 

“Yeah,” Hyuk nodded. “I work better behind the scenes anyway, and I can help you more” he explained. 

“Are you sure? Your voice is pretty unique” Jiho asked. 

“Mhmm” He hummed. “I’m better off hidden, after everything that’s happened so far. Jaehwan might be leaving too” 

Jiho frowned slightly. “Just when he was on a roll with his music. Oh well, it was good while it lasted. If he changes his mind, he’ll always have a place with us” he said. 

At Chanyeol’s parents’ ward, the fire-bender recalled everything that happened, including his near-death experience. “Thank goodness you’re alive” his mother said to him. 

“I should be asking you that” Chanyeol smiled. “Hyuk and Changmin saved me. I’d be more likely paralyzed instead of dead” he added. 

“Either way, I’m glad you’re okay” his father then said. “So everything’s alright now?” 

“Yeah, everything’s just fine. While there’s no Viva Polo, we might help you out with your live cafe until it’s rebuilt” Chanyeol suggested. 

“We’ll have to take over business until you feel better” Chanyeol’s sister suddenly said. “Can you leave us to managing the place?” She teased. 

“Do we have much of a choice?” His father said with a laugh, but nodded in understanding. “I’m so proud of you, son” he said. 

Meanwhile, Jihoon was already dressed and ready to leave. Mirae already packed some of his things and they sat to wait for the nurse to give them the papers. “What’s going to happen to the store now that it’s destroyed?” He asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. 

Mirae shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I could have it rebuilt again, but it’s going to take a while before we’re back in business so we might have to set up somewhere else until it’s finished” she replied. 

Jihoon nodded. “I’ve been thinking about it, maybe I can work at the store when I graduate” he said. 

“You will? Don’t you have dreams you want to pursue?” Mirae asked with an appreciative smile. 

Her adoptive brother shrugged. “Well, you’ve taken care of me so much. I thought I should return the favor this time, and since Changmin mentioned that you’re all planning to put up your own private investigation agency soon, I can help you by managing the store whenever you need to go on a case” he explained. 

“I’m starting to wonder where we’ll put up headquarters, though,” Juyeon suddenly said. 

“Why not behind the store? Or in the back room that used to be the office?” Younghoon suggested to her. “Didn’t you say you used to live in the space above it?” he asked. 

“Well, yeah, I guess” Mirae shrugged. 

“That’s a great idea, we can even help in the store too” Changmin pointed out excitedly. “Ah, it’s been a while since I worked at a place” he sighed contentedly, making them laugh. 

~ 

Four months later:

Jaehwan bid his parents and guardians goodbye as he set out to go on his commute. Jinyi was already waiting for him at the store. Jinyi left to go overseas with Daniel for three months, staying in one of their family homes in another country after the trial of her father and her brothers was publicized and she testified against them. All the damages from the gang wars were taken care of by her as well as the surviving members of the Shin family, who were also arrested and tried. 

He went on his usual route, and it made him remember the time before he met Mirae, Chanyeol, and Hyuk. Getting down the bus, he pondered on how his life has changed so much in a span of two years. He didn’t just gain friends, it was almost like gaining a whole other family with the three of them, and now with three more people joining them, Younghoon, Juyeon, and Changmin. 

On the way, he caught up with Chanyeol, who was stepping out of the now rebuilt restaurant. Ever since it was shot down and then rebuilt, more and more people aside from the regulars came in to eat. His sister would occasionally manage the live cafe next door, a routine they developed when their parents were discharged from the hospital, Jinyi surprising them by paying all of their bills. 

“Been a while, hasn’t it?” Jaehwan asked him as they walked together. 

“Yeah, pretty much” Chanyeol nodded. “Told Sungyoung about this side-job and she got worried at first, but got used to it” 

“That’s great. Good thing she knows you were one of the Seoul attack heroes, and the heroes from the Utopian cult abductions, and-” 

“And the Bermuda mission, and the gang wars” Chanyeol finished. He glanced at the tracker. “You miss her a lot, huh?” 

Jaehwan smiled. “She just arrived today, she’s actually already waiting for me there” he said. He looked up in the sky. “Did you get overwhelmed at how much your life has changed when you were first called into the Center?” He asked curiously. He was still trying to come to terms with how everything is and was going to be from now on. 

The fire bender nodded. “Of course, but I won’t have it any other way” He replied. 

That seemed to give Jaehwan some assurance. He wouldn’t have it any other way either. 

The two of them turned a corner where they saw Hyuk coming out of the entrances of TRBL Music, which got a lot bigger and had giant banners of Daehwi and Woojin to promote their debut. They waved at the telekinetic, who jingled his car keys at them before gesturing them to get in the car. 

“Apparently, you were behind Woojin and Daehwi’s album” Jaehwan grinned at Hyuk as he started driving. 

Hyuk beamed. “Yeah, four months of hard work into Woojin and Daehwi’s album. I’m glad it was worth it” he said. 

“Those were really good songs too, good job” Jaehwan patted his shoulder and sat back. 

A few minutes later, they arrived at Mirae’s store that was also rebuilt, but got even bigger due to the publicity it got from the incident four months back. The same employees she had returned to work, with Jihoon becoming an assistant manager to her whenever she was needed for something else. They saw Juyeon and Changmin come out to meet them as Hyuk parked the car, and behind the two was Jinyi, who quickly ran to Jaehwan in an embrace and kissed him. 

“Where’s Mirae?” Hyuk asked. 

“Right here” 

They turned around, Mirae and Younghoon appeared from the other building holding hands. They all smiled at each other. “I guess this is it, huh? Did you spread the word already?” Jaehwan asked Jinyi. 

“Yeah, we’ll be in business once word gets out. We’ve got a direct line to the police station too.” Jinyi replied, looking pleased with herself. 

“Good,” and Hyuk led the way to the store’s back entrance that was transformed into a small office. The walls were covered in beige wallpaper, with a red velvet sofa and chairs. There were several file cabinets stacked with copies of important records that Jinyi acquired through her family’s old connections.

There was only one phone and a button next to it that was the line to the police. There was also a television mounted above the door, and the stairs led to another office that had several monitors and a computer system that hacked into digital police files as well as Naver, the feature that immediately hinted them that Junhong had a hand in. 

Apart from the office, there was also a small spot that served as their break room, with a refrigerator, glasses, a microwave and a sink. The cupboards above the microwave and the sink were stocked with instant food. 

They spread out, taking a look around their new meeting place. “We’re really doing this, huh?” Mirae looked at all of them. Younghoon kissed the side of her head. 

“We are” Hyuk assured her. He saw that the frosted glass window of their office had pieces of paper covering the middle part. “From this moment forward,” the pieces of paper fell off, revealing the name of their agency. “Bermuda Investigations is now in business” he announced. 

“Bermuda?” They all looked at him with confused expressions on their faces. Even Jinyi looked confused as to why it was the name. 

“What? Why not?” Hyuk laughed. “It’s got a nice ring to it, right?” 

“Doesn’t it seem like a travel agency? Bermuda’s a real place” Jaehwan said. 

“Now that you mention it, it’s misleading and good at the same time” Hyuk pointed out. 

“Alright, alright, well it’s the name,” Chanyeol said, striding to the break room to open the refrigerator, coming back with a bottle of champagne and some glasses that he passed around and filled each one. “A toast,” he held up his glass, as did the others. “To new beginnings” he said. 

“To new beginnings!” They repeated and cheered, clinking their glasses before taking a sip. 

The End.


End file.
